Post Archive
› April 17, 2002
So the War Begins -- Again
Yesterday, on April 16th at 10:40 AM ZDNet released a story noting that CompuServe 7.0 is being shipped with a Netscape browser.
Could this be the start of the browser wars, again?
A quote from the article: "The question is, are they (using Netscape) mostly for negotiating purposes or are they really going to roll it out?" asked David Smith, an analyst for research firm Gartner.
Comments
1. April 17, 2002 03:49 PM
2. April 17, 2002 03:57 PM
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What I'm thinking now is that there never really was a war in the first place. Microsoft didn't make a browser, Netscape did, Microsoft made one and glued it to windows, people used it. Netscape kind of sucked anyway (because they lost - the web would be very different today had, say, Netscape sold out...). Now, the situation is different. Netscape, the company and the browser, has money and will have a huge market share, but the differences between IE and NN are smaller than they've ever been (display wise). What I meant about Microsoft retaliating is the fact that they will punish AOL and the rest of the web (by fragmenting, blocking, sabotage, etc.) if they get a chance. Which is why I don't use any of their products (voluntarily). Damn I'm all mad now, but finally, I'm done.
evan Posted…
Well, it seems I have more to say about this - pardon my ranting.What I'm thinking now is that there never really was a war in the first place. Microsoft didn't make a browser, Netscape did, Microsoft made one and glued it to windows, people used it. Netscape kind of sucked anyway (because they lost - the web would be very different today had, say, Netscape sold out...). Now, the situation is different. Netscape, the company and the browser, has money and will have a huge market share, but the differences between IE and NN are smaller than they've ever been (display wise). What I meant about Microsoft retaliating is the fact that they will punish AOL and the rest of the web (by fragmenting, blocking, sabotage, etc.) if they get a chance. Which is why I don't use any of their products (voluntarily). Damn I'm all mad now, but finally, I'm done.
3. April 17, 2002 05:26 PM
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Nate Posted…
If millions of aol users are transitioned over to Moz 1 or the like, I think it will be a fantastic boon for those of us who have been actively trying to wrap our heads around both web standards and aesthetic compatibility. We can either snicker as non-moz compatibile corporate sites are retrofited, and or garner some retrofitting contract work perahps! Perhaps the trend could turn out these type of phrases: “Yes, but when I went home and logged into AOL, I did not see the [insert ie specific feature here] on my website! What gives?” I suppose a savvy contractor would figure out all the ie specific features, target them on corporate sites and start marketing.4. April 17, 2002 06:51 PM
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When AOL does go the Netscape route, will Microsoft let AOL package its services with the Windows? If Microsoft doesn’t allow AOL to do this, will it really matter? (How many AOL coasters do you have?) However AOL could start bundling at the distributor level instead. (Assuming this is feasible or possible.)
Evan, I agree that Microsoft may try to block or sabotage or use both to lash out at AOL. However, I fail to see the negative impacts of fragmentation. By fragmentation do you mean that Microsoft will implement features that are not consistent with current W3C specifications? (By the way, I like your thoughts on the first war.)
If so, this is not entirely a bad thing. That is if Microsoft’s IE developers will fully implement the current W3C specifications. If IE has implemented the W3C specifications, then any extra features that Microsoft brings up will be a positive thing – at least for the consumer.
Even though developers despise browser specific features, it must be remembered that diversity is a positive deal for the consumer. Giving consumers and developers new features pushes the internet forward. Isn’t this the story of JavaScript and Netscape?
AOL said in a statement Tuesday that the CompuServe upgrade was sparked by consumer feedback. Some analysts, however, wonder if political reasons are behind the move.
I hope that it was the consumers voice, rather than politics!
Dru Posted…
The tricky question about all of this is when will AOL do this. The article says, if AOL installs Netscape browsers then Microsoft will all of a sudden have a competitor. This statement could be used as leverage to get out of some of its current suits. This leads me to believe that AOL may not implement Netscape until the completion of the trial.When AOL does go the Netscape route, will Microsoft let AOL package its services with the Windows? If Microsoft doesn’t allow AOL to do this, will it really matter? (How many AOL coasters do you have?) However AOL could start bundling at the distributor level instead. (Assuming this is feasible or possible.)
Evan, I agree that Microsoft may try to block or sabotage or use both to lash out at AOL. However, I fail to see the negative impacts of fragmentation. By fragmentation do you mean that Microsoft will implement features that are not consistent with current W3C specifications? (By the way, I like your thoughts on the first war.)
If so, this is not entirely a bad thing. That is if Microsoft’s IE developers will fully implement the current W3C specifications. If IE has implemented the W3C specifications, then any extra features that Microsoft brings up will be a positive thing – at least for the consumer.
Even though developers despise browser specific features, it must be remembered that diversity is a positive deal for the consumer. Giving consumers and developers new features pushes the internet forward. Isn’t this the story of JavaScript and Netscape?
AOL said in a statement Tuesday that the CompuServe upgrade was sparked by consumer feedback. Some analysts, however, wonder if political reasons are behind the move.
I hope that it was the consumers voice, rather than politics!
5. April 18, 2002 08:30 AM
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Alex Jones Posted…
One quick thing to keep in mind... Just because AOL chooses to use Mozilla, doesn't mean all of their users will. It is quite likely that a portion of their users will stick with what they know and like.I must say I like the point about getting more contract work out of this. I think I'll have to start creating a couple of Marketing pieces along those lines.
6. September 29, 2003 09:36 PM
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evan Posted…
Buying Netscape and funding the development of Mozilla seems like a bit overboard for "negotiating purposes" - and why should they have to or want to negotiate? Mozilla is a kick ass browser that gets better on a daily basis, and I don't use anything else (on my pc, my mac, and on linux - rock). It may indeed be the start of the browser war II. Do you remember when you made the switch from Netscape 3 or 4 to IE? Do you remembe why you did that? I did it because my work looked better in IE. It looked the way I meant it to. I think developers who write their code correctly these days (all standards compliant and stuff) will find that Mozilla (and soon, Netscape 7) does the same thing. It displays exactly what I ask it to display. On that note, it seems as though a war might not be necessary. AOL just won't have to pay Microsoft to use their browser. The problem (or war) will happen when Microsoft "retaliates"...