hey now, where were you the other night: :-)
``It seems awfully immature to resort to fraternity tactics to draw attention,'' Holten said. ``We're winning the battle. It's something you'd expect from a startup, not the largest software company in the world.''
A Microsoft spokeswoman declined to comment.
biz.yahoo.com
Wednesday October 1 8:00 PM EDT
Microsoft plays prank on Netscape after bash
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct 1 (Reuter) - A party for 1,000 people Tuesday night apparently was not enough for some Microsoft Corp. employees. They had to top off the night with a prank on Internet software rival Netscape Communications Corp.
Netscape employees found a gigantic blue stage prop in the shape of an ``e'' in front of their company's front door Wednesday morning.
The night before, the same 10-by-12-foot stage prop -- which represents the logo for Microsoft's Internet Explorer, or IE, browser -- was spotted at a Microsoft bash in San Francisco. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and about 1,000 industry executives were celebrating the launch of the newest version of Internet Explorer.
A group of people were seen dropping off the ``e'' in front of Netscape's headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, said Netscape spokeswoman Chris Holten. A card attached to the prop read, ``From the IE team,'' she said.
``It seems awfully immature to resort to fraternity tactics to draw attention,'' Holten said. ``We're winning the battle. It's something you'd expect from a startup, not the largest software company in the world.''
A Microsoft spokeswoman declined to comment.
Netscape and Microsoft have been battling to dominate the market for Internet browsers for the past two years. By most industry estimates, Netscape has about three-quarters of the market with its Navigator browser, but Microsoft is rapidly gaining with each new release of Internet Explorer.
Netscape had the last laugh in the prank, though. Company employees put their 12-foot mascot -- a green Godzilla-like foam creature dubbed ``Mozilla'' -- on top of the ``e''.
Mozilla held a placard that read, ``Netscape 72, Microsoft 18,'' referring to recent market share data. |
