A-M$: Recent Microsoft Behavior

[Chuck Swiger <cswiger@widomaker.com>]

  	From: 	MachCU@aol.com[SMTP:MachCU@aol.com]
  >spoken of (Microsoft being the only browser which
  >              consistently had problems downloading Netscape products from
  >the Web when cookies or specific Javascripts were
  >              involved, yet not at any other site), or had evidence to relate
  >regarding previous rumors of Microsoft's IIS server giving
  >              clear preference to its own MSIE browser over all others.
  
  Now this, I first thought, was just another case of people w/ lousy modems or bad
  phone lines blaming the most visible scapegoat for their frustrations.  So, instead of
  emotionally charged accusations (i.e., a 'witchhunt') I decided to try some 
  experiments, to collect some facts. I really beleive that the Holy Grail "Head of Gates on a 
  stick" award goes to the first person who can get evidence to actually prove to a judge and jury that
  actual non-competitive practice is going on (like trying to kick your opponent in a foot
  race).  So I'm trying to be 'scientific' and objective and so far have two results:
  1) Running MSIE 3.02 (msie302mnt.exe) on NT4SP3, on a LAN, connecting to Internet
  thru 'WinGate' (wg2ntr.exe) also running on another NT4SP3, attempted D/L of Netscape
  Navigator 4.04, stand alone, English, for Win95/NT - got about 1.2Mb and abruptly
  lost the d/l box, file corrput.
  2) Ok, that proves nothing, I regularly have problems running a dos ftp getting FreeBSD
  files from ftp.cdrom.com [connection closed]. So went home and installed the same
  msie302mnt.exe on Win95, this time directly dialed into the same ISP w/ a local modem,
  and it was worse: appears to have completely d/l the same Netscape 4.04 file, but at 
  the end got something like "unable to copy program xxxxxx", d/l failed.
  
  Now if someone can come up with a reverse engineered code fragment that can be
  described like:
  
  	if ( website = "netscape" )
  	   and if ( user != "ms_employee" )
  	        then call random_error();
  
  which can be independantly verified by recognized computer scientists, then we've got 
  something. Of course, it's not outside the bounds of conjecture to speculate that it's
  the other partner, Netscape, that's casting aspersions and throwing the dance with their CGI scrip:
  
  	if ( browser = "msie" )
  	   then call random_error();
  
  --------------------------
  "A witty saying proves nothing" - Voltair
  
  Chuck
  cswiger@widomaker.com