Why Microsoft will win

[catch]

Back in the early-90s I was a Mac and IRIX/TRIX user... I gave Linux a try around '94 and didn't care for it. This makes sense as IRIX and Mac OS were quite mature and intelligently design, Linux was still a dorm room toy. The late 90s had me mostly working with SunOS/Solaris, Microsoft was largely a joke... something with huge memory leaks everywhere that was used by AOL kiddies.

In 1999 Microsoft did two things that really impressed me... the first involved AOL's IM (AIM) service. The new MSN client had the capacity to communicate on the AIM networks with AOL clients. Naturally this pissed off AOL so they made defensive changes, over the course of one night AOL "fixed" their network three times, in three different ways to lock out MSN clients. Each time, within no more than a couple of hours the Microsoft tiger team had discovered and exploited a new hole to allow their MSN clients to connect. Three times AIM was compromised in this manner before the legal staffs got involved. I couldn't believe not only the speed and power of Microsoft's capabilities (to discover and exploit at will in this manner against an organization that is ACTIVELY defending itself from this specific threat in such a small window of time) but at the sheer guts of Microsoft to throw the gauntlet down in this manner.

The second thing was the release of Windows 2000, but that is beyond the scope of this post.

Several years earlier Microsoft had gone to war with Netscape... unbeknownst to me at the time, Netscape actually started the fight... by engineering its servers to reject non-Mozilla clients (which is why MSIE used to lie and claim that it was Mozilla). Microsoft won this fight too.

Later they went up against Sun, with their leased network applications. Sun introduced the concept and Microsoft effectively beat them to the market by nearly a year.

Now Google, Microsoft's latest enemy and the inspiration for this post. They are mismatched from the start... Microsoft is a technology company and Google is a media company. (despite what everyone seems to think) So what does this have to do with what? Since I last updated MSIE, advertisement links on Google no longer work. Every single one is broken... but the normal search links work just fine.

Microsoft has the resources and the balls to do, not just say, but to do anything their evil imagination (which I think we will all acknowledge as mighty impressive as far as evil imaginations go) can come up with.

cheers,

catch

Edited to add:
Not only Google ads on google.com but also google ads embedded in other pages as well. None of them work.

[dinowuff]

Hey Catch:

Could you tell me what patch you applied that caused ad links on google to fail?

[catch]

Not sure... I never update my systems except when doing a new install, then I bring the new system current. The last new install I did was over six months ago... so somewhere in that time.

As a nice added touch, by default when a resource can't be found, MSIE dumps the keywords into an MSN search... so a google ad will effectively result in an MSN search.

And there is nothing illegal about this and even if there were, Microsoft has the current administration in its pocket.

You'd think people would learn, don't **** with the borg.

cheers,

catch

[!mitationRust]

Originally posted here by catch


You'd think people would learn, don't **** with the borg.

I am Ballmer of Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile. And Steve Ballmer with his apparent roid rage is known for getting violent. Ballmer almost manhandled some guy named Kay Fu Lee, I think I read that somewhere or saw it on the news. He's like Anthony Robbins slash Tony Soprano, I guess when it comes to motivational speeches and disloyal employees he handles business swift. If I were those Google kids I would've sold all of mine back a few ago. When Ballmer threatens to kill....someone or something is going to perish.. he has the wherewithal to do it. New meaning of juggernaut. But don't ever take sides with anyone against the Family again. Ever.

[jinxy]

As a nice added touch, by default when a resource can't be found, MSIE dumps the keywords into an MSN search... so a google ad will effectively result in an MSN search.

You can change that in IE settings.......................................Please dont make me fire up IE and try and remember how to do it

[catch]

You can change that in IE settings

Jinxy... that is why I said "by deafult."

It's under advanced options "Do not search from the address bar"

cheers,

catch

[jinxy]

Ha, my mistake your default

Actualy that was not the way I was trying to remember. Click search to open the search pane, then click customise. You used to be able to put any search engine you liked in the properties, not anymore though.

You can only turn msn off. Very sneeky

[gore]

Originally posted here by jinxy
Ha, my mistake your default

Actualy that was not the way I was trying to remember. Click search to open the search pane, then click customise. You used to be able to put any search engine you liked in the properties, not anymore though.

You can only turn msn off. Very sneeky

You think that's neat? Vista isn't out yet but security flaws for it are:

http://computerworld.com.sg/ShowPage...d=3&issueid=59


http://www.smartofficenews.com.au/Co...5T7U6H8&page=1

[rcgreen]

Ten years from now, there will be no Microsoft.
Darth Penguin will slay all.

[!mitationRust]

Originally posted here by rcgreen
Ten years from now, there will be no Microsoft.
Darth Penguin will slay all.

How the hell is Darth Penguin going to "slay all" when half of the lunix gurus are asking online how to get soundcards to work? In ten years Microsoft will be making transwarp hubs inside nebulas.