MSN.com shuts out [some] non-Microsoft browsers; Microsoft Revises English, and Launches WinXP

"Users trying to access Microsoft's MSN.com with a non-Microsoft browser are finding themselves locked out.

While the software leviathan's Internet Explorer easily reaches MSN, other browsers--such as Opera, Mozilla and some versions of Netscape--run into trouble.

Using the most recent browser from Mozilla.org to reach MSN brings a message from Microsoft saying it has "detected that the browser that you are using will not render MSN.com correctly." Mozilla.org does open-source browser development for AOL Time Warner's Netscape Communications unit."

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As long as there's a Microsoft story to be had for the day, might as well chuck in a bonus item about the Word 2000 spell-checker... apparently browsers aren't the only thing they're trying to erase. Thanks to robt for this link:

"Concluding that I had found a glitch in the updated version of Microsoft Word, I decided to inform Microsoft. I called and asked to speak to Bill Gates, but was directed to a cheerful person named Tim.

Tim transferred me to Kate, also cheerful, who promised to look into the matter. Several days later, Kate sent me an e-mail message with an explanation: 'Microsoft's approach regarding the spell checker dictionary and thesaurus is to not suggest words that may have offensive uses or provide offensive definitions for any words. The dictionary and spell checker is updated with each release of Office to ensure that the tools reflect current social and cultural environments.'"

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And, of course, Windows XP has launched:

"'Bill. You don't want to do that, do you Bill?'

That was MS-DOS pleading as Microsoft Founder and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates stood poised to press return after typing "exit" on the MS-DOS command line during the launch of the Windows XP operating system at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City Thursday.

Disregarding MS-DOS' plea, Gates hit that return key.

'This is the end of an era,' Gates told the crowd gathered in the Marquis Theater for the event. 'It's the end of the MS-DOS era. It's the end of the Windows 95 era. It's the end of too many PC crashes. It's the end of the static Web experience. I also hope people will say it's the end of the narrowband era.'"

Related Stories:

• NewsForge: Learning from Mozilla's mistakes (Oct 23, 2001)
• CNET News.com: New CompuServe may ship without IE(Oct 18, 2001)
• Analysis: DoJ Decision Is Good for Linux(Sep 08, 2001)
• Case Study of Linux Usage in a Small Web Development Company(Aug 10, 2001)
• MLUG: 'So listen good - use Linux; It's the only real escape.'(Jul 29, 2001)
• Three on Java and Microsoft: From Open Letters to an Unpleasant Tonya Harding Analogy(Jul 20, 2001)
• More on the UK Government Gateway's Exclusionary Ways(May 31, 2001)
• The Register: MS-built UK 'Government Gateway' locks out non-MS browsers(May 28, 2001)