As the Apple Turns: Scene 914: Desperate Tactics (8/6/98)

Desperate Tactics (8/6/98)

The drama of "Redmond Justice II" continues, as Microsoft argues that it had the idea for an Internet browser long before its rival Netscape even existed. Extensive details may be found in a New York Times article.

Ignoring for a second whether or not Microsoft did come up with the idea for a browser first, we're not entirely sure we see the logic in this argument anyway. Just because Microsoft may not have planned Internet Explorer entirely as a method to eliminate Netscape as competition in the Internet arena, that doesn't mean they didn't plan to use IE to crush Netscape once both browsers were available. Whether or not they planned these moves from the start, they still gave away IE when Netscape was charging for its browser, they still worked to port IE to Unix (when none of its other products were being ported to that OS), and they still required all PC manufacturers to pre-load IE on all shipping systems under pain of having their Windows license revoked. Whether or not Netscape as a company existed at the time that Microsoft was tossing around vague ideas for how they were going to rule the Internet seems hardly relevant. But we'll see if this latest tactic works when Microsoft heads into court in a month's time.

By the way, AtAT feels it's our duty to inform you all that we came up with the idea of an Internet browser back in fourth-grade summer camp, back when Space Invaders was all the rage and the word "Internet" had yet to be coined. And we've got a vague pencil sketch on the back of a Denny's napkin to prove it. Naturally, we expect both Microsoft and Netscape to begin immediate royalty payments directly into our Swiss bank account.

SceneLink (914)

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The above scene was taken from the 8/6/98 episode:

August 6, 1998: As the iMac prepares for its grand entrance from stage left, some new, zippier Macs are ready to make a quiet entrance at roughly the same time. Meanwhile, Microsoft culls a strategy from the kindergarten playbook and enacts the "I saw it first" defense, and rumors of a Kinko's defection to Windows and Microsoft Publisher leave terrified service bureaus cringing in fear...

Other scenes from that episode:

913: Early on the Set (8/6/98) Apparently the supply of Power Mac G3's is drying up faster than Apple ever expected. Whoops! Guess that's what happens when you take a fantabulous product that's already in fairly short supply, stop making any new ones, and then issue price cuts so generous they serve as a great learning example for fledgling home appliance salesmen who need to learn the meaning of the phrase "insanely low prices."...
915: Kinko Defecto Hurto (8/6/98) Several of you wrote in to ask why AtAT hadn't yet addressed what Mac the Knife calls a "key defection" from the Macintosh Way. We speak, of course, of the ubiquitous and once-quirky Kinko's copy shops, and the rumors that they have decided to eliminate all Macs from their service departments over the course of the next couple of years...

Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast...


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