School's out to shun IE

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MS Will Continue to Continue...

As the Paul Simon songs sez...

"So I'll continue to continue to pretend
My life will never end..."

Unless Redmond does something radical like what I've proposed below, it will continue to pretend that IE is the be-all and end-all of browsers. MS is never going to publicly admit that IE has been bested by Firefox, Mozilla Navigator, Safari, Opera, or any other browser. I'm not sure any of the folks who put those competing browsers together would admit it either, if the tables were turned.

But the tables aren't turned, and there's one key difference between MS and its competitors when it comes to the browser market: MS has become complacent; its competitors are not complacent at all. None of them can afford that kind of behavior.

This is precisely the way free enterprise is supposed to work. Regardless of whether MS got into its dominant market position legally, morally, or otherwise (those arguments will rage on endlessly), it still is subject to market forces now that it's there. Its stubborn refusal to build IE to adhere to standards, to fix IE's plethora of gaping security holes, and to be responsive to the needs of its customers gives a hit to its credibility, especially when its competitors turn out products that prove that there is such as thing as web life beyond IE.

Is that credibility hit fatal to Microsoft? No way. It leaves an impression in its customers' minds that it's a real-world company after all, subject to the same follies of human nature that can befall anyone who gets a little bit too secure...and maybe a bit arrogant about it. It will undoubtedly cost MS some browser users?it already has?but it's not going to put much of a dent in the company's real business, which doesn't come from IE.

I'm not among those who predict (or would like to believe) that the IE debacle is going to "take Microsoft down". What rubbish. MS could drop out of the browser market altogether without much impact on its bottom line.

In fact, what a major PR coup that would be! Imagine if MS were to announce that, effective immediately, all IE users should transition to other browsers as soon as possible. "Hey, we can't fend off the assault any more. We disavow IE as a secure web solution. We've tried, but the crackers are too persistent. Let the other browsers deal with it." In one swell foop, the company would immediately exempt itself from all the flak it currently takes about IE.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, the likelihood of that happening is prolly not detectable with a geiger counter. Instead, MS has the same opportunity that every other company has when it brings a product to market, makes some mistakes, and isn't sufficiently responsive to the market's feedback. Either the IE debacle will instruct MS or it won't. If it does, MS will become a viable player in the browser market again.

If it doesn't...well, despite the fondest wishes of folks who love to hate MS and are incapable of acknowledging the benefits MS's other products provide, the company is still a market leader, and it will still be around for a long time to come. That's no less a good thing than the emergence (finally!) of some real competitors in the browser market ? competitors who have produced some clearly superior products. That's a win for everybody.

Posted by: slingzenarrowzuvowtrayjissforchin   Posted on: 12/09/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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