It's hard to imagine how different things were on the eve of Windows
XP. It's hard to believe it was only five years ago that the Web was
open to everyone, people freely traded music files (remember MP3s?),
and the Net was seen as a cooperative international resource.
The last aspect remains, but even the nature of what we used to call
the Internet has changed, just as Microsoft has completely changed the
face of computing. And to be completely accurate, the old Internet
still exists, peopled by the kind of yahoos who run Linux and Macs, but
they're such a small minority that we can effectively ignore them.
We have it good today; it's hard to think that we once considered
Microsoft the enemy and joked about Bill Gates. He knew what he had to
do and created a better future, a better today.
Just five years ago Microsoft was the laughing stock of the Mac and
Linux users. They laughed about the blue screen of death, the malicious
worms, the viruses, and the way Windows treated non-MS applications as
unwanted cousins. They fully expected the Department of Justice to do
something about Microsoft's monopolistic practices. And they still
snickered over the "Y2K bug" that was expected to cause untold mayhem
at the turn of the millennium.
That never happened, of course, but it was part of Microsoft's
strategy. On the one hand, it provided a huge cash infusion as people
either bought new Y2K compatible computers or a Y2K ready version of
Windows for their older computer. It didn't matter, because either
solution put money in Microsoft's pocket.
That was back in the days when people "bought" software and had to
worry about paying for upgrades. They were constantly worrying whether
their version of Word was compatible with someone else's, something
most of us haven't thought about in years. But we're getting ahead of
ourselves.
It was the Internet that finally made it possible for Microsoft to
grow beyond the individualistic personal computing roots and grow into
the power behind the Net. Sure, they already commanded a 90% market
share in 2001, but most of that was individual computers connected to
networks or to the Net; the kind of integration we take for granted
today was almost unknown five years ago.
Windows XP, Passport, and .NET were not just products, they were the
visionary direction for the computer industry. They helped drive high
bandwidth Internet connections, which allowed for far more ambitious
projects. They also formed the foundation for Microsoft Net, the
integration of personal computers and personal data with the broader
Internet.
Microsoft never could have pulled that off if George Bush hadn't
been elected President. The Democrats would have insisted on breaking
Microsoft in half, which would have delayed Microsoft Net - it not made
it completely impossible. The constant delays allowed Microsoft to
release Windows XP in late 2001; that was the last piece necessary to
complete their strategy.
Back when we named versions of Windows and called the collection of
Microsoft applications Office, Microsoft saw a safer, stronger, more
secure future based on their standards. It took some years to build,
but once 75% of America had broadband access and was connected to the
Net 7x24, Microsoft's auto update hooks gave them the opportunity to
quietly fix the operating system on the fly and also insure that the
version of Word or Excel (or whatever) you were using was the latest.
Sure, they pushed it as a way to eliminate bugs and quickly introduce
antivirus patches, but that was just the tip of the iceberg.
Windows XP created the foundation for Microsoft Net (not to be
confused with .NET, although they are not completely unrelated). Spam,
viruses, and worms peaked in 2001, just as Microsoft had anticipated.
Computer generated email about Snow White, the SirCam virus sending
random files from your hard drive to random users, and Code Red
overwhelming routers and firewalls all around the world - that was just
five years ago.
It was the age of anarchy and decadence. There were porn sites,
online casinos, unmoderated forums and email lists, pop-under ads, and
all sorts of other things that only exist today in the ghetto of the
classic Internet. The new networking protocols incorporated in Windows
XP allowed Microsoft to use the existing Internet while preparing for a
safer, stronger, less decadent network.
Once XP was released, Microsoft convinced most of the major hardware
manufacturers to include support for their new protocols in all their
new hubs, routers, switches, etc. TCP/IP was the norm, an improved
version was bogged down in committee, and Microsoft had the bulk to
pull off an end run around the international standards committee.
Microsoft Net introduced security, packet scanning, packet locking,
packet tracking, and so many other features to Windows users that they
hardly noticed it when Windows stopped using TCP/IP on January 1,
2004.
During the transition period, users who had Windows (just Windows -
Microsoft no longer saw any need to create version names) saw a decline
in spam and a faster Web, at least when they connected to mail and Web
servers that ran Windows and supported Microsoft Net.
And that was another clever part of Microsoft's plan, replacing
HTML, the lingua franca of the Web, with MSML. They key difference
between HTML and MSML is that HTML had been designed for hand coding,
so it had to make sense to programmers. By contrast, MSML was like
compiled code. Instead of using lengthy multi-character tags like <A
HREF> and <BODY>, MSML replaced them with two-byte codes.
Where it had taken a minimum of 7 characters (e.g.,
<P></P>) to begin and end a piece of HTML, MSML reduced the
count to 4 characters. That helped make the Web faster, and Microsoft
had a freeware converter that publishers could use to turn their old
HTML pages into MSML pages. With 90% of the world using Windows and
even most Mac users on Internet Explorer, only Linux users were left
out in the cold. For a faster Web, most webmasters considered it
worthwhile. Today you'll only find HTML on the classic Internet; it's
simply not allowed on Microsoft Net.
By 2003, Microsoft had gobbled up Time Warner AOL, Covad, @home, and
several other broadband suppliers. Instead of paying $24 a month just
for Internet access and a mailbox, Windows users had the opportunity to
pay $40 a month for Microsoft World, which included both Net access and
unlimited, automated updates to any installed Microsoft software.
This also gave Microsoft control over most of the consumer Internet
and ownership of the mail servers that handled about 80% of the world's
email. With their huge staff of well trained programmers, Microsoft
created incredibly sophisticated scanning programs that could detect
spam, worms, and viruses before they even reached a subscriber's
mailbox. Instead of delivering unwanted messages and malware, it was
blackholed - and Windows updated to make it resistant to each virus or
worm within hours of discovery.
IT folk rejoiced, for they no longer had to read security bulletins
or help users install system patches. And not a soul complained when
the spam dried up and blew away,
But it didn't stop there. Windows became ubiquitous, passing the 98%
level. With secure broadband connections and the hooks built into
Windows, users could access their computers and their data from
anywhere in the world - well, anywhere on Microsoft Net. You could link
to your office files from home, which greatly increased the level of
telecommuting. You could also link to the games and projects on your
home computer from work. The line between computers grew blurred, and
to facilitate sharing, more and more users began to rent space on
Microsoft Net servers, where data would be available even if the home
or office computer was turned off.
Privacy freaks worried about what Microsoft could do if it had
unlimited access to the data on everyone's computers. Well, today we
know. They made a better world by building a better Net. Outside of the
classic Internet, peopled only by those who refuse to use Windows,
freedom loving pornographers, gamblers, and con artists have freedom to
do as they choose; in the Microsoft World, the well behaved masses are
free from temptation.
Microsoft has made the world a better place, especially for those of
us in the United States of Microsoft. They bought all the major record
companies and allowed unrestricted copying of music tracks over MS Net
- at just 25¢ per track. They eliminated all the competing word
processors, spreadsheets, databases, and other programs, making it
easier for us to simply get our work done. They financed the national
debt and forged the new U.S. constitution of 2005. They alert the FBI
about pedophiles foolish enough to use Windows. They report anarchists
and terrorists to the proper authorities around the world.
We all feel a lot safer with Microsoft in control.
And if you check Expedia,
you'll see they even have the airlines running on time.
It's a Microsoft World, and I wouldn't want it any other way.
- Anne Onymus
