Does Microsoft understand the web?

David Heath
Sunday, 25 April 2010 00:05

Opinion and Analysis

I was drawn to a couple of interesting graphs that paint an interesting picture of Microsoft's frequent skirmishes with the Internet.  Whether or not they "get it" is still up for grabs.

Fifteen years ago, the initial release of Windows 95 didn't include a web browser; in fact it didn't even load a TCP/IP stack by default.

At the time, Netscape Navigator (released only a few months earlier) was the dominant browser, but at that stage (so the tale goes) Microsoft considered the Internet to be something of a passing fad.  The success of Netscape changed that view very quickly.

Microsoft has regularly been accused of attempting to subvert the Internet for its own purposes - the extensive deviations Internet Explorer made from standards being an obvious and oft-quoted example.

One might opine that a free and open Internet was yet another barrier to Microsoft's global domination, mainly because they don't really understand it.

Which brings us to the charts.

Most readers would be aware that iTWire uses the StatCounter service to measure hits to the website.  In addition to counting our own hits, StatCounter also accumulates data from every website that uses the service.