Internet Explorer 8
Out of context: Reply #21
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- lukus_W0
So many websites are built with hacks and fixes which are put into action once they detect that IE is being used. To be fair to Microsoft, I think they've been between a rock and a hard place re. all of this. AFAIK if they chose to go purely for standards - a lot of the old sites would appear broken -> standards mode was eventually decided on as the default, but now we have a situation where some sites are appearing to be 'broken'.
Philosophically, the whole notion of free and open-source software is entirely at odds with the model of capitalism that made Microsoft - which seems to be based around the notion that you can produce software as a unit, and sell it as something which has an inherent value. Previously it must have appeared entirely sensible to produce a product which created a market that only Microsoft had access to - it's how they founded their billions.
God knows how a company like that can ever adjust to a new worldview - but then, MS manoeuvred a remarkable turnaround in the late 90's (when Bill Gates told the world that the Internet was an unimportant blip / and that MSN would be where it's at) ... so anything's possible I guess.