Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Microsoft says Firefox not a threat to IE

spade111 · 11-17-2004, 01:34 AM

Microsoft's PR wagon can spin this any way they want. They have a lot up their sleeve's when it comes to media exposure.

Fact of the matter is, MS 'acknowledges' the existance of Firefox, and knows that over the last few months, IE market share has erroded. That's the first time in a long time, to any degree worth writing about, that IE has lost ground.

Is MS worried. I don't think worried is the right word. I fear that all we've done is to wake a sleeping giant. MS has always been pretty swift to unhinge any legitimate competition... But the most effective route, and something MS is extremely good at, has been to shift the consumer away from even needing the alternative. When you have unlimited resources, and a plan... you get the idea.

The money as far as MS is concerned is in the move towards a .net world, where everything is covered by the MS blanket. Will Firefox matter in the end if they have their way? I don't think it will have much impact. How is a refrigerator going to order new groceries. How is a mouse going to deliver advertising. How are your RF ID's going to get from the back of your hand to the central WalMart Database...

The only way MS will pay closer attention to Firefox, is if it threatens in some way their domination of the information integration market. As it sits, all that FireFox really has going for it, is a cleaner, faster, and friendlier feel than IE, an awesome support community, the cool factor, plus a side order of "Stick it to the man itis". What does IE have... complete shell integration, 100% Windows penetration, hassle free updates, transparent usage to the uninformed computer user... and of course the full attention of a megaconglomerate multinational entity with endless supplies of cash, and a never ceasing hunger for total domination, no matter the cost.

Example. The Xbox was (not sure if it's still the case) sold at way below cost when it debued. It continued that way, even seeing serious price cuts, matching Sony all the way. To what end? Many say that software sales, and accessories were the motivation... but I think it was much more cunning. I think that MS wants to lull us all in, slowly to the idea of Media centric computing, and further down the road that Bill has forseen. If you go down to your local video game shop, you'll see a little remote control being offered by microsoft that introduces new capabilities to the little unit. Media center XBox. I think that the xbox was just the most compelling way that MS could attach themselves to your TV. It's not so strange... just upgrade the thing, then we can watch the OC... it's on the hard drive...

Xbox 2 will come in 3 different flavors...

-sans hard drive,
-with hard drive, options for sizes,
-full media center (advertising and consumer research model)

They've tried it before and failed... anyone remember webtv?

see this article for references made by the great bill himself.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10..._tv_obsession/

Hate to be that guy, but MS will always win. Who would turn down the financial security MS would be sure to provide if you had a better idea, for the easy to put aside self indulgance of being right.

Err.. right.. that's all way off topic. I guess lurking for so long does that to a post.

11-17-2004, 01:34 AM	#23 (permalink)
spade111 Upright	IE hmmm? Microsoft's PR wagon can spin this any way they want. They have a lot up their sleeve's when it comes to media exposure. Fact of the matter is, MS 'acknowledges' the existance of Firefox, and knows that over the last few months, IE market share has erroded. That's the first time in a long time, to any degree worth writing about, that IE has lost ground. Is MS worried. I don't think worried is the right word. I fear that all we've done is to wake a sleeping giant. MS has always been pretty swift to unhinge any legitimate competition... But the most effective route, and something MS is extremely good at, has been to shift the consumer away from even needing the alternative. When you have unlimited resources, and a plan... you get the idea. The money as far as MS is concerned is in the move towards a .net world, where everything is covered by the MS blanket. Will Firefox matter in the end if they have their way? I don't think it will have much impact. How is a refrigerator going to order new groceries. How is a mouse going to deliver advertising. How are your RF ID's going to get from the back of your hand to the central WalMart Database... The only way MS will pay closer attention to Firefox, is if it threatens in some way their domination of the information integration market. As it sits, all that FireFox really has going for it, is a cleaner, faster, and friendlier feel than IE, an awesome support community, the cool factor, plus a side order of "Stick it to the man itis". What does IE have... complete shell integration, 100% Windows penetration, hassle free updates, transparent usage to the uninformed computer user... and of course the full attention of a megaconglomerate multinational entity with endless supplies of cash, and a never ceasing hunger for total domination, no matter the cost. Example. The Xbox was (not sure if it's still the case) sold at way below cost when it debued. It continued that way, even seeing serious price cuts, matching Sony all the way. To what end? Many say that software sales, and accessories were the motivation... but I think it was much more cunning. I think that MS wants to lull us all in, slowly to the idea of Media centric computing, and further down the road that Bill has forseen. If you go down to your local video game shop, you'll see a little remote control being offered by microsoft that introduces new capabilities to the little unit. Media center XBox. I think that the xbox was just the most compelling way that MS could attach themselves to your TV. It's not so strange... just upgrade the thing, then we can watch the OC... it's on the hard drive... Xbox 2 will come in 3 different flavors... -sans hard drive, -with hard drive, options for sizes, -full media center (advertising and consumer research model) They've tried it before and failed... anyone remember webtv? see this article for references made by the great bill himself. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10..._tv_obsession/ Hate to be that guy, but MS will always win. Who would turn down the financial security MS would be sure to provide if you had a better idea, for the easy to put aside self indulgance of being right. Err.. right.. that's all way off topic. I guess lurking for so long does that to a post.