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File Extensions And Monopolies

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the stuff-to-think-about dept.

A_Non_Moose sent us an article from Salon that talks about how file extensions are one of the tools used by Microsoft to extend their mind and market share. It's a very simple idea but its honestly something I'd never thought about. Definitely worth a read, and a few neurons to realize how its really the simplest of things that will guarantee that this monopoly isn't stopped even if Microsoft's deep pockets didn't let them buy the law.

5 of 881 comments (clear)

  1. Why hold down shift? by GeekLife.com · · Score: 1, Redundant

    Do you get something cool that I'm missing from holding down shift?

  2. Re:File Extension ".WTC" by TheMidget · · Score: 0, Redundant
    A file appeneded with file extension ".WTC" will crash your system when double clicked...

    This applies to Win32, Linux, and Mac OS...

    USERS BEWARE!!!

    Actually, on Linux, this misfeature is quite easy to disable. In order to crash the system, the extension invokes the program /bin/laden. Simply removing that nasty program makes your system immune against this exploit:

    rm -f /bin/laden
  3. Re:You guys don't get it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Redundant

    No, *you* don't get it. If someone is _that_ clueless that they don't even know there's a choice, no amount of fancypants UI design is going to help them. They wouldn't do it on Macs, they wouldn't do it on Linux, they just fucking well *wouldn't do it* because it *wouldn't occur to them*. There is exactly NOTHING you can do about this, except ask *every* time a file is opened what program the user would like to use to open it, and even then people (well, what passes for people on Slashdot anyway) would whine about the order the list of programs was presented in.

    This is the worst article I have ever read on Slashdot. As you can imagine, it's up against some pretty stiff competition. Taco should be even more ashamed of himself than he already was.

  4. No right click in Windows 3.1 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Redundant

    In the interest of historical accuracy... Win 3.1 didn't even recognize a right click. It barely supported drag & drop. All file manipualtion was done through window menus. And just like in Win 95 Open With... was only present if the file type was unregistered.

  5. Re:Windows 3.1 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Redundant

    It's still there in windows 2000 as well. WITHOUT shifting. Simply right click the file, choose "Open With" and then choose "Choose Program." That article seems to be a waste of space, all things considered.