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Do you remember back when (October 1997) the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Microsoft?
Do you remember how Microsoft claimed the global economy would crumble if Microsoft wasn't allowed to put Internet Explorer into Windows, and how Internet Explorer was an integral part of Windows? (Microsoft called in innovate and integrate.)
Guess What?
Now that Microsoft has crushed Netscape, and there is no browser competition out there, Microsoft has offered to distribute a version of Windows without a browser. What happened that caused their web browser to stop being an integral part of the operating system?
And the whole time Microsoft was claiming that Internet Explorer was an integral part of the operating system, they were releasing versions for the MAC as well as Windows OSes that didn't come with it. Can anyone explain to me how that was an integral part of any operating system?
But, I think I finally understand what Microsoft means by integration. For Microsoft, product integration, is the ability to give a product away for free until the competition is destroyed, then go back to selling it as a separate stand alone product.
So, you should expect to see the Microsoft Office suite become an integral part of the operating system in the real near future. And after that, look for any product available on the retail shelves that wasn't made by Microsoft to shortly there after become an integral part of the operating system. At least until the competition is destroyed, so Microsoft can go back to selling the product as a separate program.
I also now understand what Microsoft means by innovation. Microsoft innovation is all about finding new ways of separating the consumers from their money. Maybe Microsoft can come up with a new corporate logo.
A fool and his money is soon parted. Never give a sucker an even break.
-- The Cynical Optimist
