A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Tag: Microsoft

Biggs On: More Microsoft Shennanigans

It’s really sad to see a grown monopoly pout. Microsoft has lost their innovative edge on the industry, they are grappling to keep up with all the new kids. The unfortunate thing about Microsoft is when someone beats them to the punch, they don’t take the high road and try to take the next innovative step, instead they sue you.

Microsoft hasn’t come up with something truly innovative in years; Apple, Google, even Barnes and Noble have been leading the industry with their innovative gadgets and tools. So instead of trying to think for themselves Microsoft decides they deserve a piece of everyone’s pie which can only be acquired with a lawsuit. Microsoft’s new paradigm is “if you can’t beat em, sue em!” First they start with Barnes and Noble who is being sued by Microsoft for patents violated with their nook e-reader. Barnes and Noble laid a golden egg with their nook (and the new nook Color) and since Microsoft didn’t make a successful e-reader they want a piece of the nook’s success – an e-reader from Microsoft probably would have sucked anyway! The part that disgusts me the most is that Microsoft will probably win their lawsuit, after all it worked with the iPod and now Microsoft receives a small royalty for every iPod sold.

The best is yet to come. Microsoft has filed a lawsuit against Google in the EU for anticompetitive search technology. It’s laughable that Microsoft is actually filing an antitrust suit and we all know they will win because the only thing Microsoft is good at anymore is antitrust law.

Microsoft should change their name to Dewey, Cheatum & Howe.

Its frustrating to be an IT professional, developing software using .Net when the manufacturer of your tools and technology is an embarrassment. When will we stop playing such petty games and get some real work done?

In closing, to add additional emphasis to the tone of my previous post, this post was completely written and published using the iPad 2! 🙂

Biggs On: IE, Chrome & Firefox

A very unusual thing happened this month, the top three browser companies all released majors versions of their browsers: Chrome 10, Internet Explorer 9 and Firefox 4. Since that time the internet and the competitive natures of their respective fans has been on a rampage trying to promote their favorite and discredit the others. ZDNet was quick to put each browser through a battery of performance tests and Chrome 10 was the victor for  most of the tests, IE and Firefox tied. ZDNet concluded that while Chrome 10 was clearly the faster browser, overall all three browsers were comparable.

It’s no secret to most that I am an avid Firefox fan. I have been using Firefox since its early versions. I only use IE if its absolutely necessary. I have tried Chrome a couple of times but I still find myself going back to Firefox every time. Naturally I became defensive when I see an article pop-up on ZDNet today with the heading “Why IE Will Survive and Firefox Won’t”. I completely disagree with the author, I think there is plenty of room for three competitors and its those “cult followings” that the author referenced that will keep Firefox a competitor. Microsoft is still playing catch-up. They haven’t come up with something truly innovative since C#. They are barely keeping their head above water trying to compete with everyone else; and if they can’t compete, they sue (ex: Microsoft is suing Barnes & Noble for patent infringement – obviously because Barnes & Noble is striking gold with the nook and Microsoft is pouting that they didn’t think of it first).

If the worst should happen, and Firefox starts to dwindle away, those that do jump the proverbial ship will most likely go to Chrome before going to IE. Honestly, I’m OK with Firefox losing to Chrome. It’s a nice browser. It’s a fast browser. It’s the dawning of a new era and the Internet Explorer era is the one that is reaching its twilight.

Cheers.

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