On Mon, Feb 02, 2004 at 07:39:44PM +0100, Ingo Hohmann wrote:
> He has a point here, though. Look at MSIE, why is it used by so many 
> people, despite the fact that there are other, superior and more secure 
> browsers? Because it's what you get when you have Windows. Why should 
> anyone try anything different???

I got long weekly commutes in which I get to meet strangers.  From the
people that I talked (and brought the subject), ALL of them use it
because:

- They dont know something else exist (or even something beside MS)
- They know something else exists, but think they won't be able to do
  their internet and see the same pages.
- They are used to it.  Took them damn long enough to learn how to use
  it, they are not going through the same again.
- They certainly won't go through the installation of a web browser for
  fear of breaking their computer.

Most of which is the direct consequence of the "integration" of the
browser.  But please lets not go down the browser wars thingie..  I
suspect that by "trying something different" meant exactly what you
write below:

> On the other hand, of course, if MSIE _didn't_ come with windows, the 
> Internet wouldn't be what it is today, and no one would have bothered to 
> write those other browsers ...

that is, writing different approaches, which did happen with browsers
because after all they are a separated application and its not as easy
as to viral them unpurposedly into the system the same way a packaging
system might in squeak..  So apples to oranges I think :)

Offtopicly yours,
-- 
Ragnar Hojland - Project Manager
Linalco "Specialists in Linux and Free Software"
http://www.linalco.com  Tel: +34-91-4561700