Microsoft rivals say browser
war is really about Windows
October 20, 1997
Web posted at: 11:18 p.m. EDT (0318 GMT)
NEW YORK (CNN) -- To the
average computer user, the
browser war is about freedom
of choice. Microsoft's rivals say
the battle with the U.S. Justice
Department over software used
to surf the Internet is, in the end, about the survival of the
company's Windows operating system.
By using its Internet Explorer to try to gain control of the World
Wide Web browser market -- a market currently dominated by
Netscape Communications Inc. -- Microsoft is trying to protect its
operating system, which currently runs more than 80 percent of
personal computers in the United States.
"This is not about the Internet," said Roberta Katz, general counsel
at Netscape. "It's about doing away with competition in the
browser market because the browser threatens the operating
system."
The Justice Department on
Monday asked a federal court in
Washington to hold Microsoft in
contempt of a 1995 court order
barring the Redmond,
Washington, firm from
anti-competitive licensing, an action a Microsoft spokesman says is
"unfortunate and misguided."
Justice accused Microsoft of using its Windows "monopoly" to
force computer makers to include the Microsoft Internet browser
in pre-loaded software, putting competitors such as Netscape at a
competitive disadvantage.
Competitor: Microsoft designers have advantage
Control of the operating system market allows Microsoft to set
standards that software designers have to use, whether they want
to or not, said Mike Morris, general counsel for Sun
Microsystems, another Microsoft competitor.
"When they control the
standards it means they know
first what's coming down the
pipe," he said. "Their
developers will get a leg up."
Cliff Stoll, who writes about
high technology and culture,
explains Microsoft's
omnipresence in the world of
computers.
"Every time most people turn their computers on, the first word
that appears on their screen is Microsoft. When they log on to the
Internet, the first ... (thing) they see is welcome to Microsoft's
home.
"Result: They don't just have a monopoly on what's in your
machine. They also have high pressure on what we get on your
screen later," Stoll said.
But the Internet, said Netscape's Katz, makes operating systems
such as Windows 95 less relevant. As use of the Internet becomes
common, and software for using it more sophisticated, it won't
matter if computers run Windows 95 or not.
And if Windows is irrelevant, Microsoft's dominance of word
processors, spreadsheets and programming tools could come
crashing down.
Microsoft spokesman Mark Murray said, "The facts will show that
Microsoft is in full compliance with the consent decree."
Murray said the decree "specifically allows Microsoft to integrate
new features into the operating system. That's what consumers
want, and that's how the software industry has operated for years."
The spokesman also said that "we have never tried to stop any
computer manufacturer from shipping any other browser."
Blurring the lines between computer, network?
Crude spreadsheets and word processors already have been
written to run on any computer and can be used directly from the
Web. Such programs are a direct threat to Microsoft, which reaps
large revenues from its own word processing and spreadsheet
programs that are tightly integrated into Windows 95.
And Netscape produces
Communicator, an all-in-one
program that handles e-mail
and the World Wide Web and
allows users to collaborate on
projects over a network. As
more data resides on such
networks and not on individual
machines, the software used to
get that data -- whether
Communicator, Explorer or
Windows 95 -- becomes more important.
Explorer is the default browser for Windows 95. To use
Netscape's browser, which currently has about 70 percent of the
market, users often must download the program and install it
separately.
Microsoft's next version of its operating system, Windows 98,
promises to completely integrate Explorer into the operating
system, blurring the line between computer and network and
forcing Netscape off the desktop of millions of personal
computers.
Reaction to the browser battle is mixed.
One woman in San Francisco said, "I feel uncomfortable being
forced to use any product, regardless of the brand name."
Others aren't fazed. One man, who observed that there are many
online providers that give access to the Internet, said, "I think we
still have a choice."
Consumer activist Ralph Nader praised the Justice Department's
move as a "a welcome first step for consumers."
James Love, director of the Consumer Project on Technology in
Washington, D.C., a group founded by Nader in 1995, asked
whether the Justice Department would force Microsoft "to put
some daylight between the browser and the operating system."
"That could be highly significant," Love said. "The browser is the
operating system of the Internet."
San Francisco Bureau Chief Greg Lefevre, The Associated
Press and Reuters contributed to this report. |
