Blowing Its Own Horn
Microsoft says articles anoint IE as the
better browser, but a close look reveals
less than ringing endorsements
Jon Swartz, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, August 7, 1998
A key foundation of Microsoft Corp.'s defense in the pending
antitrust case against it may have some cracks.
The Justice Department contends that Microsoft used its
market-leading Windows software to promote its Internet
Explorer Web browser -- giving it an unfair edge over a rival
browser from Netscape Communications. Microsoft's
browser has vaulted from a 20 percent market share in
January 1997 to more than 40 percent currently. But the
company insists that Explorer succeeded on its own merits.
As evidence, Microsoft chief executive Bill Gates has
maintained
--both in a U.S. Senate hearing in March and a recent
Economist article -- that Internet Explorer ''has won 19 out of
20 head-to- head reviews against Netscape's, which is why
we have seen more and more consumers using it.''
The argument is part of a multipronged legal strategy. The
software giant also asserts that its Internet plans were well
under way before Netscape was founded, and that a federal
appeals court in June ruled that Microsoft has the right to
include separate products such as IE 4.0 in the Windows
operating system. In addition, Microsoft vehemently denies
Justice Department charges that it bullied Internet service
providers and computer- makers into distributing its browser
exclusively.
A trial is set for September 8.
But Microsoft's claims of technical superiority are debatable,
contend critics who say Microsoft is stacking the deck. An
evaluation of the ''20 head-to- head reviews'' -- which
appeared in both computer magazines and mainstream
newspapers -- cited by Microsoft reveals less-than-ringing
endorsements.
-- ''Based on features alone -- and I don't think I enjoy saying
this -- Internet Explorer is the prettier twin, warts and all,'' PC
World said in a December 1997 review.
-- ''You may be better off waiting several months for
Microsoft to flush out the problems or waiting until Windows
98 or Windows NT 5.0 appear formally,'' Computerworld
opined in a December 15, 1997, review.
-- ''Although we recommend using (IE 4.0) as your preferred
Web client, the smart surfer will keep both products around,''
said Windows Magazine in a December 1997 piece.
The list also includes an October 14, 1997, Chronicle story
with the headline, ''Explorer 4.0: 10 ways to love it, hate it.''
Microsoft counts all those conclusions among its wins.
A survey of the 20 reviews reveals that Microsoft fared
favorably in 14 stories -- not 19 as it claimed -- and that half
of those ''wins'' did not include direct comparisons with
Netscape's Communicator browser.
Microsoft did score outright ''head- to-head'' victories in
comparison to Netscape in the Wall Street Journal, Los
Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Houston Chronicle and several
other publications. Netscape officials said they're disturbed by
Microsoft's aggressive marketing tactics -- including the firm's
apparent exaggeration of review conclusions.
''One of our continuing frustrations has been that the press
and public have a tendency to take at face value whatever
Microsoft says, even when Microsoft is plainly wrong,''
Netscape general counsel Roberta Katz said.
Industry experts said the less-than-convincing reviews could
undercut Microsoft's credibility in court but probably won't
hurt its case.
''It raises doubts about their honesty by inflating the accepted
conclusion that IE 4.0 is a better product,'' said analyst Rob
Enderle, of Giga Information in Santa Clara. ''They did
themselves damage when they didn't have to.''
Microsoft officials are backpedaling from earlier boasts,
acknowledging that the reviews don't amount to an
overwhelming victory. However, officials said the reviews
prove that the company has significantly improved Explorer,
which has translated into improved market share.
''Until we made a better product, we were getting killed in
reviews,'' Microsoft spokesman Jim Cohen said. ''Now that
we are innovating, we are winning consumers and gaining a
competitive advantage. How can that hurt the market?''
The company also noted that most computer magazine
reviews are analytical and do not lend themselves to screaming
endorsements, the way some movie reviews do.
''Reviews are tough to gauge,'' said Rob Bennett, Internet
Explorer group product manager. ''There are good and bad
points to every product. It is hard to define something as a
100 percent win. But if a review in the end says we have a
good product, we'll take that as a win.''
Cohen downplayed the importance of Gates' previous claims
that the reviews prove that Explorer 4 is a superior product.
He said the browser comparison represents a ''minimal
factor'' in the antitrust case, even though it is prominently
mentioned as a major strategy on a company Web site
(www.microsoft.com/presspass/doj/7-28formalresponse.htm).
He said Microsoft first broached the idea of incorporating
''Internet connectivity as an integral part of the Windows
operating system'' in December 1993 -- before Netscape was
founded.
At a computer show in April 1994, Gates publicly discussed
building Net access directly into its next version of Windows,
Cohen added.
''The government is convinced Microsoft tried to kill off
Netscape,'' Cohen said. ''But what's important is that a
federal appeals court in June decided that Microsoft has the
right to integrate IE 4.0 into Windows OS.''
GLOWING REVIEWS?
Microsoft claims that these reviews gave Internet Explorer a
big thumbs-up as superior to Netscape Navigator. As these
excerpts show, many of the reviewers actually had some
reservations about Microsoft's Web browser.
-- PC World (December 1997) -- ''Based on features alone
-- and I don't think I enjoy saying this -- Internet Explorer is
the prettier twin, warts and all.''
-- Fortune (Oct. 27, 1997) -- ''So what's the verdict? I still
feel comfortable with the way Netscape handles a lot of little
chores. . . . The more I use Internet Explorer, the more I like
it. Someday soon, I may just have to bid Netscape a fond
adieu.''
-- Windows Magazine (December 1997) -- ''Microsoft's win
over Netscape in this round does not translate to ultimate
victory. . . . Although we recommend using Microsoft Internet
Explorer 4.0 as your preferred Web client, the smart surfer
will keep both products around.''
-- The San Francisco Chronicle (Oct. 14, 1997) -- ''Explorer
4.0: 10 ways to love it, hate it.''
-- Computerworld (Dec. 15, 1997) -- ''You may be better
off waiting several months for Microsoft to flush out the
problems or waiting until Windows 98 and Windows NT 5.0
appear formally.''
Source: Chronicle research.
sfgate.com |
