Defending Goliath
It would easier defending David than Goliath. It’s quite politically
correct to attack “big business” and especially correct to attack big
businesses that are accused of being “monopolies”. But, we’re not
politically correct and we are going to defend Goliath. You know how we
are :)
Goliath’s name in this case is “Microsoft” and David represents almost
everyone else. How can we defend Microsoft you say? “They must be
getting something from Microsoft to write this” you think. But, we can
defend Microsoft simply by saying most of you would not be enjoying the
Internet, emailing your friends, chatting, or browsing had it not been
for Microsoft Windows. And, no we’re not getting a thing from Microsoft.
No free software. Not a dime. Heck, we can’t even get them to add our
stationery site to the link that is included in Outlook and Outlook
Express that says “More stationery”. We think they should. But that’s
another story.
We chortle with delight when we see all these questions from people
writing asking us why they can’t use our stationery in “Mozilla” or
“Thunderbird” or why they can’t download Windows updates with “Mozilla
Firefox”, “Mozilla”, ”Netscape”, or “Opera” browsers. Or “Why can’t I
use the online gaming sites I used to? I recently switched to “Mozilla”,
could that have something to do with it?”
Chortle? Well, yes, sort of. We have written many times in our
newsletters about switching browsers and making the new browser the
“default” browser. We warned you that if and when a particular browser
became popular it would become a target of the hackers and miscreants
that have exploited the security “holes” in Microsoft’s “Internet
Explorer” browser. These malcontents have now turned their attention to
these alternative browsers. Almost weekly (and sometimes more often)
there are new “flaws” (holes) found in Mozilla browsers. One of the most
recent ones hasn’t (as of this writing) been correctly patched yet; a
full week after it was
discovered. And, it will only get worse, folks.
For those of you not familiar with the Mozilla Organization, here’s
quick biographical sketch: Mozilla has been around for a few years. When
AOL bought Netscape they decided not to spend any money on the further
development of it and turned the “Netscape Project” over to a group of
volunteers called “The Mozilla Organization”. They (Mozilla
Organization) wrote the code for the
newest Netscape Browser (which is a real no-no since it installs
everything from AIM to Uncle John’s Sea Bond) and their own browsers
“Mozilla” and “Firefox”. They slogged along esoterically enjoyed cult success in relative
'Net obscurity. Their
only reason for existence, we swear, is to get back at Microsoft for
being so popular, but that’s just our own warped opinion. They certainly
have the right to do whatever they please. Competition is a good thing.
A few months ago, before Windows XP Service Pack 2 was released,
Internet Explorer was being attacked by all sorts of new exploits
written by, we suppose, bored, unemployed, coders just because they
could. Internet Explorer was staggered and Microsoft was forced to issue
security patch after security patch to its users to slap over the holes
in their browser. Well, it wasn’t too long before the sharpies at CERT
issued a warning that Internet Explorer was so full of flaws that
everyone should switch to alternate browsers. CERT is notoriously
anti-Microsoft so that was to be expected. The press which is also
mostly anti-Microsoft reveled in their glee when the CERT announcement
was released. And, went gaga when the U.S. government issued similar
warnings around the same time. Now, the U.S. government issuing a
warning about flaws, is a serious case of the pot calling the kettle black.
That’s fodder for another rant someday :-)
So, Mozilla crawled out its arcane lair and into the bright light of the mainstream.
Several million people flocked to download it, mostly those who had seen
the warnings about Internet Explorer on the decidedly anti-Microsoft CNN
and other news sources. Most who downloaded
Mozilla or Firefox made it their default browser. And hence, lost some
functionality. Therefore we get tons of questions about why they can
no longer do this or that. Functionality always comes at a cost.
As Mozilla crawled out of its primordial cave, a bull's-eye was
concurrently strapped
on its back and it became a target of the same unemployed, bored,
scumbags, who, turned their glassy eyes away from Microsoft and toward
Mozilla, FireFox (et. al.) to expose flaws in this software
and make life miserable for all of us. I suppose writing one of
these exploits is a sort of badge of honor among the citizenry of
Scumopulous. They are hoping someday they can get a real job
working for IBM or even Microsoft. I doubt they’d really want to work
for a living; they might have to get up before noon and give up smoking
dope on the job.
When Windows XP Service Pack 2 was released it shored up Internet Explorer as well as in Windows itself. Microsoft did a
great job with Windows XP SP2. It’s not perfect but it has reduced the
number of exploits and made Internet Explorer more secure and Windows
more safe.
Meanwhile, the popularity of Mozilla grew thanks to a zealous press,
including many “computer magazines”. And, of course, the many thousands of
Microsoft bashing Web sites on the Internet extolled the virtues of
Mozilla, FireFox and the other. Internet Explorer has been wounded by
the bad press and by being a huge target for hackers and other
slimeballs. Not many like a winner. Even fewer like a big winner.
Mozilla and Firefox are not perfect and recently more flaws have
been found in these browsers than have been found, in the same time
span, in Internet Explorer running on XP with Service Pack 2 installed.
And the rush to exploit flaws in Mozilla is just beginning. As Mozilla
gains in popularity, the pressure will be on them to add more
functionality to compete with Goliath's browser. As more functionality is added, more
flaws will surface. It’s the perfect “catch-22”.
So, all those who rushed out and downloaded Mozilla and Firefox on the
word of a bevy of pseudo-experts are now dealing with the restricted
functionality of those browsers. And you're wondering why. Now they’re
realizing they’re back to the same old cycle they were used to with
Internet Explorer: downloading security patch after security patch to
fix one new vulnerability after another. They have yet to realize they
are worse off than before. Before, at least they had the functionality
they liked. We imagine it will dawn on them soon. And
we have seen many returning to IE as their primary browser.
Are we saying there should be no other browser but Internet Explorer?
No. We’re saying that everyone needs to base their decision on truth and
reality and not on the word of organizations whose prejudice is against
Microsoft. Alternate browsers are fine and if they work for you, great!
But, for people to be duped by a biased press and sites with unbridled
anti-Microsoft stances, into thinking these alternative browsers are
invincible is very troubling. Where and what is the truth?
We are defending Goliath today. We stand with Microsoft. Millions of ordinary people are having fun with
their computers today thanks to Microsoft Windows. Many companies excel
on the Internet today because of Microsoft’s products. If they’re a
monopoly then so be it. They didn't force anyone not to buy a Mac. They
don't hover over you and tell you that you can't use Linux. If you choose not to use Windows you have a choice: Apple, Linux,
Linspire, and others are available and they would be glad to have you use their products and
break your reliance on Microsoft. But Microsoft is certainly not a
monopoly. They're not the only game in town. It's simple: People like
their products better than the others. Period.
We feel that Microsoft has always been committed to improving their products.
Consider the days of Windows 95 and compare them to Windows XP. Who, in
their right mind would ever trade Windows XP for Windows 95 or even 98?
Consider the recently released Service Pack 2 for Windows XP that was
created because Microsoft cared about its users security. Microsoft lost
a lot of money by distributing XP SP2 on CD-ROM free but considered the
safety and security it provides to be paramount.
Microsoft Windows has made computers accessible to those with few
computer skills, they’ve made it easy for developers to create software
for Windows and they’ve opened the door to a brave new world to people
who would have otherwise never been able to walk through it.
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Bill Gates (Microsoft's founder) has personally donated over 30 billion
dollars to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation which contributes
millions of dollars to help fight disease, establish college endowments
for the needy, provide computers for schools located in poverty-stricken
areas, and other philanthropic activities. The Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation is the world's largest philanthropic organization helping
people all around the world. You can read more about The Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation by
clicking here.
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