I'd like to post and email that I received from a highly placed developer of NT Web servers. It demonstrates to what lengths MSFT will go to screw their clients and competitors in order to win. I would invite any of the MicroSerfs out there to comment on this. I'm sure we'll all enjoy a good laugh as Thomas tries to explain this one.
If you're not as irate as several webmasters that I've talked to about this, slap yourself, reread it and think about its implications. You don't need to work for Netscape to realize what an absolute hoseshit move this is.
Subject: IP: Alleged Microsoft shenanigans
Author: farber@central.cis.upenn.edu%smtp at x400po
Date: 7/13/96 7:34 PM
Please note xxxx's company markets a NT web server
From: xxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sat, 13 Jul 1996 13:58:07 PDT
To: farber@central.cis.upenn.edu
Subject: Microsoft shenanigans
Your readers might be interested in knowing about the following
"feature" planned for NT Workstation 4.0. It's clearly an abuse of
Microsoft's operating system monopoly to compete in the
application space.
In quick summary, they give away IIS (Internet Information
Server) as a "free" web server on Windows NT server. But lots
of people have been happily using competing servers such
as WebSite with NT Workstation. So now they are crippling the
next release of NT Workstation so people will have to buy NT
Server if they want to run any web server on NT.
From: "Bob Denny" <rdenny@dc3.com>
To: xxxxxxxxx
Subject: FYI: NT Workstation 4.0 Limits
Message-ID: <9607110652.ZM547@solo.dc3.com>
>>Jim Buyens wrote:
>> [...]
>> A version of IIS that runs on NT Workstation is planned for NT 4,0, but
>> this be a developer version with limited connections. I've seen it
>> mentioned that NT Workstation 4.0 will support significantly fewer
>> simultaneously open sockets than NT Workstation 3.51 and before.
>
>[me...]
>Yes, it's true. The limit is 10 unique incoming IP addresses in a 10
>minute period. That's "significant" alright. A major removal of
>functionality going from 3.51 to 4.0.
>
>It should seem obvious that this is a way for MS to boost the sales of
>Server (which has fallen well short of predictions) by forcing current
>customers who are happily running web services on Workstation to pay for
>an upgrade to Server. I also strongly suspect (though I don't know) that
>the connection limits for sockets on Server will work like other Server
>limits. You may have to pay for capacity. IIS looks even less free under
>this scenario. Compare other servers and Workstation with the cost of
>Server and possible "capacity units" coupled with "free" IIS.
>
>Imagine how Process, O'Reilly, Netscape, etc. are reacting :-) This is
>as close to a lockout maneuver as it gets. Put a "free" webserver into
>Server then brain-damage Workstation so you have to use Server to do any
>webserving... Considering that the above companies (and a half dozen
>more) pushed hard in the fight to legitimize NT vs Unix as a web
>platform over the last 18 months, this is a pretty harsh move.
>
>> If true, this could mean you'd have to buy NT Server to run *any* Web
>> server -- Netscape, WebSite, Purveyor, etc. -- in a volume environment. NT
>> Workstation simply wouldn't have enough sockets to support the volume,
>> regardless of Web Server.
>
>Righto. Time's a wastin... 4.0 goes Gold soon and then it'll be too
>late. Let Microsoft know how you feel about their putting the screws on
>current NT web people by removing existing functionality in order to
>force them to upgrade. Or just tell 'em you aren't going to upgrade to
>4.0 Workstation on your webserver machines till they restore the 3.51
>functionality to Workstation.
>
> -- Bob (caveat: I am the xxxxxx server developer)
I think we agree -- this move by Microsoft directly short-circuits the logic
of, "NT Workstation plus our Web server is still cheaper than NT Server plus
Microsoft's free server."
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