Microsoft has halted development of Outlook Express, and has announced thatfuture versions of IE will be tied to the particular version of windows thesystem is running. The express project manager said that they were hoping thatbusiness managers and end users would upgrade to, and pay for, Outlook, themail client that comes with Office, or switch to Hotmail.
What does this mean? Microsoft's freebies are being pulled..I suspect it means that they're declaring that their war to put an end totheir competitors in the Email and Browser market is won, and now they'reready to squeeze a captive market to make some money. What's left?Netscape is truly dead, and Mozilla has joined the open source movement,with whatever future we can offer them.. We have no corporation leftthat can make bundling deals though, so apart from enthusiastic users whoknow about Mozilla, there's nothing left on windows to stand in their way.Email? Well, there's Eudora, and that's pretty much it. I do feel obliged,thanks to their threatening me with a lawsuit some time back, to say herethat the developers of Pegasus, should there still be any, suck, and thatI wish nothing but ill on them and their product. But anyhow, it doesn'treally matter anymore. Microsoft Office is at least initially installed onmost PCs, Microsoft recieving money from the manufacturer, and then fromlater upgrades. It's hard to migrate from Microsoft Office because theyuse incompatible formats for Email. Microsoft's stranglehold wins on PCsrunning windows. And the DOJ, in its antitrust trials, has completelydropped the ball, and has even allowed the settlements to be another wayfor Microsoft to extend its dominance. Open Source is a last refuge offreedom.. will it survive? Microsoft has already manipulated the legal/politicalsystem so adeptly... Monopoly...
I just got back from PerlMongers.. it went well, and I had some goodconversations... it's very different from Zets. I'll need to think before Idecide if I want to give up on Zets meetings once a month for it.
I was reading up on a controversy on Mel Gibson's new christian movie..Every time I read the word 'deicide', I have trouble avoiding laughingout loud... Of course, it's one of the sillier things in christian theology..god can die, at least in a form. And there's that weird 'is it a good thing'question there, and 'what does it do'.. It's so bizarre that going through withan execution is supposed to somehow make all the bad things that people dosuddenly be forgiven. That entire thing just makes you go 'Huh?'
Anyhow, I'm sleepy. But ... I hate giving up the little free time I have left againbefore I go back to work to sleep. Hmmmm
