Monday, November 25, 2002
von Tetzchner vs Microsoft
Posted by Andy Sjostrom in "THE COMPETITION" @ 02:18 AM
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2002/11/21/microsoft_cellphone/index.html
Jon von Tetzchner, CEO and co-founder of Opera software, brings to Microsoft competitors in Symbian perhaps their strongest card: a common Web browser. This article, "Microsoft wants your cellphone", is an interesting read if you want to keep up with what competition tries to do to keep their platform together. Here's an interesting idea for you to ponder: what if Microsoft would build Pocket Internet Explorer for the popular Symbian flavors and:
a) ask competition not to integrate the browser into their phones or
b) ask competition to also bundle Pocket Internet Explorer with their phones
c) if a or b are refused, file a suit and team up with the DOJ...
"By most accounts, Microsoft won the Web browser wars over Netscape. But if you ask Jon von Tetzchner how he can be sure that Opera's Web browser is better than Microsoft's, he'll look at you as if you've said something absurd. To von Tetzchner, the so-called browser war is just now heating up, and Microsoft has most certainly not won the contest. If you press him on the issue, he'll concede that Microsoft may enjoy a seemingly indomitable 90-plus percent share of the browser market -- but that's only on desktop computers, where Microsoft has an operating-system monopoly. On cellphones, where Microsoft and Opera will start off on a level playing field, Microsoft will have to compete on the merits of its software. And Opera will win out, von Tetzchner insists."
Jon von Tetzchner, CEO and co-founder of Opera software, brings to Microsoft competitors in Symbian perhaps their strongest card: a common Web browser. This article, "Microsoft wants your cellphone", is an interesting read if you want to keep up with what competition tries to do to keep their platform together. Here's an interesting idea for you to ponder: what if Microsoft would build Pocket Internet Explorer for the popular Symbian flavors and:
a) ask competition not to integrate the browser into their phones or
b) ask competition to also bundle Pocket Internet Explorer with their phones
c) if a or b are refused, file a suit and team up with the DOJ...
"By most accounts, Microsoft won the Web browser wars over Netscape. But if you ask Jon von Tetzchner how he can be sure that Opera's Web browser is better than Microsoft's, he'll look at you as if you've said something absurd. To von Tetzchner, the so-called browser war is just now heating up, and Microsoft has most certainly not won the contest. If you press him on the issue, he'll concede that Microsoft may enjoy a seemingly indomitable 90-plus percent share of the browser market -- but that's only on desktop computers, where Microsoft has an operating-system monopoly. On cellphones, where Microsoft and Opera will start off on a level playing field, Microsoft will have to compete on the merits of its software. And Opera will win out, von Tetzchner insists."
