To All: *OT* and over-long on Instant Messaging
I apologize for the length of this post but I happened to read this wire story after I'd been drinking a little by the bar-b-que. Not a good idea.
Anyway, the article below contains a superbly illustrative little pro-Microsoft blurb by well-used dancing-quote-whore-on-a-chain-in-a-little-red-cap Rob Enderle of Giga Bullsh*t Group.
Deep in my heart I agree with my unfavorite techno-financial columnist, the Reliably Fatuous Jim Seymour, who wrote one of his inimitable quadruple-length screeds on TheStreet.com castigating Steve Case for not playing nice with Bill G. on an instant messaging standard. Though this issue looks on the surface like M$ once again hijacking something a competitor built, in fact a standard is needed. Users aren't served by competing pseudo-standards that are essentially identical, and Case is probably fighting city hall by trying to keep proprietary his list of people who want to be able to talk instantly to anybody on the net<g>. He should in fact lead here, not sabotage.
But the point here isn't the eventual outcome. It's how Enderle spins it today. At this moment both groups are still in a formative stage, still gaining members. The outcome of the controversy is far from clear.
But note how, in the section I've emphasized near the end, the current instant messaging battle is all but over as far as Enderle is concerned. He declares Microsoft and its bit-player partners as defining the standard, and warns that AOL's technology will "languish" if they don't embrace the inevitable.
Then he takes off his cap and bows, whirling around, hoping you'll throw a quarter in. Rob's really very cute when he performs.
Regards,
--QwikSand
DULLES, VIRGINIA, 1999 JUL 30 (NB) -- By Laura Randall, Newsbytes.
As the battle over instant messaging continues unabated, executives from Microsoft Corp. [NASDAQ:MSFT] and seven other companies have asked America Online [NYSE:AOL] President Steve Case to join an effort to create an industry-wide standard for instant messaging. Meanwhile, AOL shot back with the announcement it has formed its own advisory group, made up largely of Microsoft's harshest critics, to address the issue.
The letter, which was released late Thursday, calls on AOL to stop blocking interoperability between the instant messaging services of AOL and other vendors and to join efforts to create a universal standard through the Internet Engineering Task Force. It was signed by officials from Microsoft, AT&T, ExciteAtHome, Activerse Inc., Prodigy, Tribal Voice, and Infoseek.
"Now is the time to unlock the broadest possibilities of this technology and the Internet by tearing down the walls between vendors so that all customers can talk to one another," the letter said.
The battle lines over instant messaging rights were drawn last week, when Microsoft launched MSN Messenger and announced that the new service included access to AOL's instant messaging service. Clearly unhappy with Microsoft's move, AOL immediately blocked the MSN messages. Microsoft retaliated by tweaking its software to regain access. On Thursday, AOL enlisted the support of Apple Computer, by announcing it would work closely with Apple to develop new enhancements to its instant messenger software to serve Macintosh users.
AOL's latest move consists of the formation of an advisory group to examine ways to make instant messaging systems connect with one
another. So far, the group consists mainly of vocal Microsoft critics, including Sun Microsystems' Bill Joy, RealNetworks' Rob Glaser, and Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs.
AOL spokeswoman Tricia Primrose, in a phone interview late today, compared Microsoft's behavior to that of a hacker. She also said AOL has no intention of backing down in its efforts to block MSN users from AOL access.
A key concern on the matter is that the MSN Messenger program jeopardizes the security of AOL members by requesting their name and passwords.
When asked by Newsbytes if AOL was considering legal action against Microsoft, Primrose said, "We're not commenting on that right now."
One analyst likened the battle to the fight over Unix operating systems in the early 1990s. At that time, two standards bodies were formed, one backed by IBM and the other by AT&T, with everyone else forced to choose sides, said Rob Enderle, an analyst with Giga
Information Group.
Eventually, AOL will be forced to decide whether it will participate in the industry-wide effort to create open instant-messaging standards, Enderle told Newsbytes. "Historically, what has happened is if you have a standard being set and a vendor doesn't participate, their technology languishes. We'll see if that happens here," Enderle said.
Reported by Newsbytes.com, newsbytes.com
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