What are the 'threats that threaten Windows' feared by former Microsoft engineers?
Former Microsoft engineer Ben Srifka claimed from around 1995 that the 'web' would be a threat to Windows in the future. Mr. Friska recalls the internal reaction in 1995 as to why the Web, which provides various services to many people in 2020, claimed to be a threat to Windows.
The Web is the Next Platform, 5/27/1995 | Ben Slivka
The Web is the next Platform-THEWEB.pdf
(PDF file) http://pstella.com/reading/THEWEB.pdf
Friska has led the team since the launch of Internet Explorer 1 in October 1994, and led the team when Internet Explorer 3 was released in August 1996. It was a large household. Mr. Friska had little sleep during the development of Internet Explorer and seemed to have worked about 80-100 hours a week for about 17 months from October 1994 to August 1996.
According to Friska, while the development of Internet Explorer was progressing, there were many discussions about the future of the Internet within Microsoft. Friska, on behalf of the Internet Explorer development team, published a paper summarizing the future of the Internet in 1995 under the title ' (PDF)
At the beginning of the document, 'The Web exists as a technology that offers interesting solutions and will grow rapidly in a few years. The Web can be comparable to Microsoft Windows and even become a full-fledged platform beyond Microsoft Windows 'There is a possibility that the Web will be a threat to Windows.'
Friska published this document several months before Windows 95 shipped. Friska recalls that Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, who read documents stating that the Web is a threat to Windows, did not look very good.
Why Mr. Friska claimed that `` the web is a threat to Windows '' because he was worried that services provided via the web might be provided on devices other than PCs in the future . In 1995, when Friska published the document, ordinary people could not use web services on a PC with an operating system such as Windows unless a web browser such as Internet Explorer was installed.
'In my writing, my nightmare scenario is that the web becomes an OS-independent application, for example, and other companies come up with products that can use web services simply by connecting to a TV. Will make expensive PCs unnecessary, and most homes that do not have PCs will not consider purchasing PCs. '
'In order for Microsoft to be influential on the web, it must have extensive web support in its products. If Microsoft products can gain a market share, You can take leadership in expanding and shaping the web. '
Since 2016, Internet Explorer's share has fallen below Google Chrome and Firefox, and the Chromium version of Microsoft Edge, which appeared in January 2020, has not regained its share. The situation might have been different if Microsoft had taken Friska's assertion that 'the Web is a threat to Windows and Windows should exercise leadership in the Web' more seriously.
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