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Microsoft Gone Wild

NBC and Microsoft have formed an intricate partnership in which Microsoft serves to expand and maintain NBC's presence in the online news and entertainment market while promoting its products. NBC online integrates many of Microsoft's products. MSNBC is co-owned by GE's NBC universal and Microsoft.

I have no problem with the partnership, except for the way Microsoft pushes people to use Microsoft products while other alternatives do just as well or better. Let me provide some examples.
  • You can't access NBC online videos unless you have a Windows media plugin. What about using Flash like everybody else.
  • If you want to access Olympics games online at NBC Olympics, you better be using a Windows or a Mac because Microsoft does not have a Linux version of the Silverlight plugin that it is pushing hard in competition with Adobe Flash, the industry standard.
  • Suppose you are using Windows, you pay a huge penalty for not using Internet Explorer!! Try watching videos with Internet explorer with Silverlight plugin and everything appears smooth. If you use Firefox with Silverlight plugin and the video becomes very intermittent.
While I understand Microsoft's incentive for promoting its products (Windows OS, Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, Silverlight, ...), I wish it didn't push its inferior products on people so aggressively. It only perpetuates the perception that Microsoft is a bully which sets standards that serve its own agenda. Its efforts will have more adverse effect on its reputation as an evil and monopolistic empire.

Speaking of going wild, watch Bill Gates' last day (as CEO?) at Microsoft.



Video: Bill Gates' Last Day - CES Clip

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