Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Talk the Talk, Walk the walk.

Author:David Valentine
Posted:8/2/1999; 6:56:56 PM
Topic:Microsoft response to Instant Messaging
Msg #:9032 (In response to 9028)
Prev/Next:9031 / 9033

It's really about eyeballs. If it were a transparent user experience, MS would have worked with Prodigy, Yahoo, IBM/Lotus, Apple, and other companies doing IM, and produced products for all users of all OS's.

From the davenet column:

Microsoft must be just as reluctant to allow open access to their servers. When I asked this week, I was told that there were no APIs that would allow developers to write software that interfaces to Microsoft's servers. It makes sense, after all, what's in it for them?

MS has been talking open IM standards for at least 18 months. They screamed open IM standards when they released MSN Mess. But when confronted with actual open standards, they say "next version".

People are very very very cynical when MS says open standards. Does MS open up the links to hotmail to any comers?

I'd like a promise.

If IM is so important to MS, then any IM products should be MS's first open-source product. Release both the client and the SERVER code within 30 days. Contribute developers to the Jabber project.

MS has talked the talk. Now it needs to walk the walk.

ps. Dave, don't frighten the natives, netcraft still says FreeBSD (Hotmail appears to be running on Windows NT now, not Unix,as it was when they acquired it.).

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