Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News

      Browsers Still Matter

      By
      eWEEK EDITORS
      -
      June 16, 2003
      Share
      Facebook
      Twitter
      Linkedin

        Like most businesses, software companies seek to do whats in their best interest, and this is certainly true of Microsoft.

        Last month, Microsoft displayed this kind of strategic thinking when it settled its long-standing Web browser dispute with AOL Time Warner through a $750 million payoff.

        With this move, Microsoft neutralized its main commercial competition in the browser market, namely the Netscape browser, and ensured its own browsers spot in the AOL client. Ironically, Microsoft achieved this dominance for Internet Explorer at a time when it has let its browser stagnate to the point where it is probably the least-capable browser on the market today.

        A quick look through eWEEK Labs reviews of the browsers on the market shows a great deal of innovation and useful features in open-source browsers such as Mozilla and commercial products such as the Opera browser. In comparison, IE 6 has basically the same code base as IE 5, which was released in 1999.

        When the browser wars began, Microsoft innovated in IE so that by Version 4.0, IE was a better browser than Netscapes. However, market dominance having been attained, Microsoft seems to have lost interest in innovating.

        What explains Microsofts behavior? Its likely the company simply doesnt view the browser as a stand-alone application as strategic, and, therefore, browser enhancements are a low priority. Its no secret Microsoft has seen the Web browser as a threat to its desktop dominance, and company officials have consistently said they believe many browser functions should be integrated into the desktop operating system and applications. The less browsers improve as an application, the easier the argument that they should become irrelevant as stand-alone products.

        This point of view was expressed when Microsoft announced recently that IE 6.x will be the last stand-alone version of the browser and that in the future it will simply be an integrated feature of the operating system. This fits with Microsofts vision that the Web is simply a delivery medium for content into Microsoft applications and features.

        We think this should not be the only choice for corporate IT. This type of future for the Web could become very limiting and proprietary, making it hard for businesses to create standards-based content that is easily distributed across platforms. And given Microsofts track record when it has market dominance, its a reasonable concern that Web technology could stagnate.

        Right now, the main path to a different future lies in the direction of alternative browsers, which tend to have excellent standards support and run identically across multiple operating systems. Whats more, they are technically superior to IE. Companies may want to give them more thought. Interest in competing products could spur Microsoft to innovate in browser technology. Its happened before.

        eWEEK welcomes your response at eWEEK@ziffdavis.com.

        eWEEK EDITORS
        eWeek editors publish top thought leaders and leading experts in emerging technology across a wide variety of Enterprise B2B sectors. Our focus is providing actionable information for today’s technology decision makers.
        Get the Free Newsletter!
        Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
        This email address is invalid.
        Get the Free Newsletter!
        Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
        This email address is invalid.

        MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

        Latest News

        Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

        James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
        I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
        Read more
        Applications

        Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

        James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
        I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
        Read more
        Cloud

        IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

        James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
        I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
        Read more
        IT Management

        Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

        James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
        I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
        Read more
        Applications

        Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

        James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
        I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
        Read more
        Logo

        eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

        Facebook
        Linkedin
        RSS
        Twitter
        Youtube

        Advertisers

        Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

        Advertise with Us

        Menu

        • About eWeek
        • Subscribe to our Newsletter
        • Latest News

        Our Brands

        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms
        • About
        • Contact
        • Advertise
        • Sitemap
        • California – Do Not Sell My Information

        Property of TechnologyAdvice.
        © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

        Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

        ×