Re: Moderately improved map of Microsoft tying evidence

[Tod Landis <landis@cruzio.com>]

  The problem is that one vendor will dominate
  the Desktop OS, the compilers, the SDKs, the
  desktop applications, the Internet browsers, and
  the Internet servers.
  
  The potential is there for that vendor to profit by
  building in obsolescence.  (One example I have in mind:
  is that Word 97 files cannot be read by Word 95)
  
  Tod Landis
  
  David E. Y. Sarna wrote:
  
  > 1. What exactly is wrong with Microsoft relying on portions of IE in
  > building Developer Studio?
  > 2. Yes, the new Microsoft help tools are based on html. RoboHelp (Blue
  > Sky Software) has tools for creating this kind of help very easily, or
  > converting existing help files.
  > 3. IE4 reads the new help files perfectly. The price is right (free).
  > What us the  problem, exactly?
  >
  > Regards,
  > David E. Y. Sarna       davids@objectsoftcorp.com
  > ObjectSoft Corp. (NASDAQ:OSFT)    http://www.objectsoftcorp.com
  > 433 Hackensack Ave., Hackensack, NJ 07601
  > Tel.: (201) 343-9100    Fax: (201) 343-0056
  >
  > > -----Original Message-----
  > > From: Dave Sieber [SMTP:dsieber@terminal-impact.com]
  > > Sent: Friday, November 07, 1997 3:06 PM
  > > To:   Multiple recipients of list
  > > Subject:      Re: Moderately improved map of Microsoft tying evidence
  > >
  > > Hans Reiser wrote:
  > >
  > > >    * Visual Studio requires MSIE to install (needs a URL to the
  > > >      original sjmercury discussion group posting, so that we can
  > > >      request affidavits)
  > >
  > > Well, this one is certainly true. Actually, the installation program
  > > informs you: "...setup needs to update or install Microsoft Internet
  > > Explorer components required by the Developer Studio InfoViewer". If
  > > you
  > > click on "Cancel" at this point, the entire installation quits. If you
  > > click "Install", you get a message saying "Installing System and
  > > Internet Explorer Components". Alas, instead of just "components", you
  > > get a complete installation of IE3, including an "Internet" icon on
  > > your
  > > desktop and an "Internet Explorer" entry in your Start menu. Perhaps
  > > the
  > > currently shipping version installs IE4.
  > >
  > > The real oddity is that InfoViewer (the online help and documentation
  > > viewer) used to work fairly well, but in the latest revision the
  > > entire
  > > help contents have been, for some unknown reason, converted into some
  > > form of HTML (but compressed and not accessable by any "browser" other
  > > than InfoViewer).  It's far slower than the earlier edition, and the
  > > formatting is in many cases fouled up -- it looks like a bad rush job.
  > > Many negative comments appeared on MS's Developer Studio discussion
  > > group over the new "feature", which adds only the ability to browse
  > > the
  > > web from within DevStudio (the integrated InfoViewer is supposedly an
  > > IE
  > > window that appears within DevStudio). My favorite was from a
  > > programmer
  > > who declared that he didn't need or want "a web browser integrated
  > > into
  > > his compiler".
  > >
  > > --
  > > Dave Sieber
  > > dsieber@terminal-impact.com
  > > http://www.terminal-impact.com
  > .-