Now that Anil has apologized to Walt, and Deborah Branscum and Dave Winer have weighed in on the subject, the implications of Microsoft’s latest stab at world domination have started to sink in for me. I don’t know about my fellow webloggers, but I decide what my pages say. I decide what words are linked and where they go – no one else. If not, what’s the point of self-publishing? I actually cheered for Internet Explorer to blot out Netscape, so web design would get easier. Now we begin to see the real effects of a monopoly.
What if Microsoft decides to replace text on your web page with ads? What if content filters built into IE9 block your site from view because it has ‘objectionable’ content? This stuff gets scary.
“The power of the printing press belongs solely to those who own the presses.”
-A.J. Leibling
I changed my mind. Microsoft has never done anything unethical or unfriendly to anyone before. They’ve never sold a flawed product or restricted a user’s access to customization. they’re just a bunch of jolly software geniuses creating visionary products for the benefit of humanity. i love microsoft. they’re the bomb. they can change my intellectual property however they want, because they know what’s best. they’d probably make it better. they’re that good.