[Am-info] Microsoft reaction to security problems - close out competitors

[Roy Bixler]

On Mon, Sep 01, 2003 at 10:40:19AM -0400, Gene Gaines wrote:
> I interpret Microsoft's thinking on this as (a) we caused the
> security problems, (b) heck, what a wonderful opportunity to
> screw more competitors, (c) let's start to lock down and shut out,
> (d) ain't monopoly a wonderful thing as it creates so many
> opportunities to screw others, (e) what others? of course,
> competitors and potential competitors, (f) users? hell, we don't
> have to worry about them.

What's especially ironic about this is that Microsoft was calling out
for AOL to open up their instant message service and allow MSN users
to use it freely.  AOL kept tweaking their servers to lock out MSN
messages and made it clear that it considered such accesses to be
trespass on their private network.  At that time, Microsoft was
proprosing an "open messaging standard" to allow the different
messaging services to interoperate.  Now we find that their their
commitment to open messaging standards was not so strong after all.

> The Microsoft lurkers on this list ... love to hear from you why
> this interpretation is wrong.

Don't count on me to give a charitable interpretation.  I believe this
is part of Microsoft's overall plan to decommoditise Internet
protocols and replace them with ones that they control.  An open
Internet messaging protocol would be the last thing they would want to
encourage.

> It is time to abandon the MSN ship?

It would surprise me greatly to find that you were ever on it.  Oh,
you meant the 'softie lurkers out there ... whether they stay on the
ship, they should have no illusions about its intended destination.

R.