I am really sorry. But, there is not way in Hell that Microsoft could possibly be right - at least on this case. I downloaded the MSN Messenger on my PC at work - the only good thing I found was the fact that it was much smaller than the AIM client.
It seems a bit hypocritical that MS downs AOL for breaking standards. Yes, America Online did publish information on their protocol to the public, but they didn't mean for it to be used to make Macintosh and Windows clients.
Microsoft will do what they always do. If America Online bows to their will, Microsoft will make the MSN Messenger, pack it with two or three advertisements, and bundle it with Windows 2000, or whatever comes next. This will ultimately kill AIM.
As much as I would like for AIM to be 300 KB in size, it is more important that it remain the Mac and Windows client. I say this because AOL spent the money to make AIM, not MS... And MS wants to steal all of that.
Mind you, that Prodigy is joining this "open-standard initiative" that Microsoft began, too... Is it just me, or do all of these companies simply want a free ride? I didn't see them interested in making AIM bigger and better when it first started out... Now that it has a few million users, though... And the possibility for advertising... Yeah, now they want it... They want it all.
For once, America Online is right. For yet again, Microsoft is wrong. My suggestion, also, to Prodigy, is to back off or make a private deal with America Online. Anyone who joins Microsoft's side is asking for trouble.
Actually, Bell Atlantic did kind of the same thing... They denied ADSL for Macintosh users. We all called, endlessly, and complained. They changed their minds after it was on the news... Yeah!:-)
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I am really sorry. But, there is not way in Hell that Microsoft could possibly be right - at least on this case. I downloaded the MSN Messenger on my PC at work - the only good thing I found was the fact that it was much smaller than the AIM client.
It seems a bit hypocritical that MS downs AOL for breaking standards. Yes, America Online did publish information on their protocol to the public, but they didn't mean for it to be used to make Macintosh and Windows clients.
Microsoft will do what they always do. If America Online bows to their will, Microsoft will make the MSN Messenger, pack it with two or three advertisements, and bundle it with Windows 2000, or whatever comes next. This will ultimately kill AIM.
As much as I would like for AIM to be 300 KB in size, it is more important that it remain the Mac and Windows client. I say this because AOL spent the money to make AIM, not MS... And MS wants to steal all of that.
Mind you, that Prodigy is joining this "open-standard initiative" that Microsoft began, too... Is it just me, or do all of these companies simply want a free ride? I didn't see them interested in making AIM bigger and better when it first started out... Now that it has a few million users, though... And the possibility for advertising... Yeah, now they want it... They want it all.
For once, America Online is right. For yet again, Microsoft is wrong. My suggestion, also, to Prodigy, is to back off or make a private deal with America Online. Anyone who joins Microsoft's side is asking for trouble.
Actually, Bell Atlantic did kind of the same thing... They denied ADSL for Macintosh users. We all called, endlessly, and complained. They changed their minds after it was on the news... Yeah! :-)