As the Apple Turns: Scene 1012: Microsoft Bribe 98® (9/14/98)

Microsoft Bribe 98® (9/14/98)

Is it a prelude to still more antitrust litigation? Several Mac users have noticed that CNN's website has jettisoned all of its QuickTime content in favor of video clips in Microsoft's Media Player format. As of yet, there's no way for Mac users to access that content, whereas the previous QuickTime clips were cross-platform. (Cross-platform RealVideo files are apparently still available.) Reality alleges that Microsoft bribed CNN to switch over by paying them a quarter of a million dollars and donating "tens of thousands of dollars' worth" of hardware and software. ($250K? Everyone has a price, and apparently CNN's isn't very high...)

Outrageous! How dare CNN accept money from Microsoft in exchange for pushing Microsoft's products? What if everyone behaved that way? What if, say, our own beloved Apple accepted $150 million plus an unspecified amount of "behind the scenes" cash in exchange for making Internet Explorer and Outlook Express the default web browser and mail application on the Mac? Er... Never mind.

In a public letter at MacNN, CNN's webmasters claim that they're all Mac fans who bleed six colors, and that the decision to choose Microsoft's (currently Windows-only) Media Player format over the cross-platform QuickTime was based entirely on the fact that QuickTime is currently not capable of streaming. CNN claims that once QuickTime gains the streaming capabilities that have been publicly demonstrated but not released, they'll re-evaluate the situation-- though they caution that it'll take "years" for Apple to catch up to Microsoft and RealNetworks in this arena. So I guess we'll wait and see.

SceneLink (1012)

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The above scene was taken from the 9/14/98 episode:

September 14, 1998: Apple reportedly plans on cutting iMac owners a deal on the upcoming Mac OS 8.5 release. Meanwhile, CNN Interactive claims it ditched QuickTime because it doesn't stream, but Reality alleges that bribery is to blame, and Microsoft's trial has been delayed yet again, but at least it hasn't been canceled...

Other scenes from that episode:

1011: Rewarding the Faithful (9/14/98) Mac OS 8.5 is coming, and by all accounts, it's going to be cool. From improved performance to interface enhancements to the new Sherlock search utility, odds are, if you've got a Power Mac, you're going to want it...
1013: Better Late than Canceled (9/14/98) On the whole "Redmond Justice" front, we've got some good news and some bad news. The good news is, Judge Jackson didn't give in to Microsoft's cajoling and cancel the whole show. The bad news is, he did delay its season premiere by three weeks-- but legal experts seem to think that the short delay may only hurt Microsoft instead of helping them...

Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast...


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