Microsoft: The Gatekeeper of the Internet

jeffy124 writes "C|net News.com is embarking on a seven day comprehensive report on how Microsoft is moving themselves into position to be The Gatekeeper Of The Internet through Windows XP. The first installment explains the basics of how this is going to happen: Reminders that last for days encouraging users to sign up for Passport, and how Windows will evenutally resemble services like AOL."

I want Microsoft to be the Gatekeepers!

[Desus]

I don't understand Slashdot. Not everything Microsoft does is evil. Hell, I want them to be the gatekeepers of the internet. I find that worrying about things like personal freedom, privacy, and security tax my little mind too much. So I'd rather have a corporation deal with that for me.

Also, my mother still picks out my clothing for me. Decisions like this worry me so much.

Good - Let them go!

[wirefarm]

By ensuring a Windows-only "internet" they are granting freedom to Linux users and people saavy enough not to play along...
I was happy enough with the BBS culture of 10 - 15 years ago - I will be happy to see all of those morons gone. If you can't figure out that you don't need Windows, I'm not sure that I want to know you...
Good riddance to them - For a while, it was as if the football team had joined the A/V club and now they're being shepherded out of the room - let them go... Maybe I'll get less spam and fewer Code Red attacks...

Obviously Somewhat Embittered,
Jim in Tokyo

wincing in pain and laughing at the same time

[headwick]

"Microsoft and AOL are considered to be among the few online leaders capable of providing the security and technology necessary to handle payment systems on an Internet-wide scale"

Joe Wilcox [mailto]
You have got to be kidding me!

Re:Quote of the Day (scary!)

[Neon Spiral Injector]

Well not everyone has a fear of relationships, its the month billing part that I don't like. :)

Re:Good - Let them go!

[spnbs]

What happens when microsoft owns the routers? Maybe the football team will decide that there's just no need for an AV club. It's just a haven for dorks without software licenses, anyways.

Re:does not apply..

[NineNine]

How many Linux users are going to buy clothes from L.L. Bean or Chadwick's?


Don't most of them buy clothes from K-Mart and the Salvation Army, anyway?

Re:GateKeeper, KeyMaster.

[ZaMoose]

Microsoft Announces New VP of Internet Operations

Redmond, WA - Microsoft, in what is being regarded as a bold move, has hired Vince Glortho, Keymaster of Gozer the Gozarian as Vice President in Charge of Keeping the Internet Gateway.

This move is viewed as pivotal for Microsoft's .Net OccultXP(TM) program.

In related news, rumor has it that Larry Ellison is pursuing a Papal endorsement of all Oracle products as a way to counter Microsoft's new initiatives.

At least the commercials will improve

[roystgnr]

I'm sick and tired of "Where do you want to go today?" It'll be sweet when they replace that:

Bill Gates, uncombed and speaking an octave below his normal voice: "Are you the keymaster?"

Unintended irony?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm fed up with sites that filter, summarize and otherwise decide what's best for me.

Then why are you reading Slashdot?

If MS becomes the gatekeeper of the internet...

[ralmeida]

...why don't we just break through the Windows?

Re:Quote of the Day (scary!)

[wowbagger]

I. Did Not. Have Billing. Relations. With that company.

Considering some of the connotations that "relationships" can have, this might be more accurate than not. Unfortunately, I think the relationship Microsoft wants to have with me is much the same as the relationship the large, tattooed, shaven-headed man in the prison cell wishes to have with me....

Re:Quote of the Day (scary!)

[nologin]

Funny, I can picture the relationship that they speak of now...

Windows user: Why does my computer no longer work?

Microsoft: Sorry, you'll need to bend over some more...

For Heaven's sake

[hawk]

Just get married. Then it's easy. If you come downstairs and your wife screams then hangs her head to shake it, you go back up and try again.

OK, so it's not foolproof. SHe didn't think that that plaid suit & plaid shirt went together, but , really, they did!

hawk

Re:Quote of the Day (scary!)

[barneyfoo]

WinXP is "more" 200 than ME?

Excuse me, but WinXP is to Win2k as Win98-se is to Win98.

So much so, that I'm very inclined to call winXP "Windows 2000 Fischer Price edition". It would be truth in advertising, after all.

Re:Microsoft's Future

[ackthpt]

Consumer tolerance of MS flaws and holes is about equililent to finding a razor blade in every 5th box of one brand of cereal and continuing to buy it, under the assumption that eventually they'll figure out how those things get in there and you'll no longer need a glass of Bactine at the ready on your breakfast table.

Thought: Microsoft as Gatekeeper... well, everyone already knows worms can tunnel under a gate, how fitting.

Re:Microsoft's Future

[Anonymous Coward]

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he can collect unemployment insurance for the rest of his life (in Canada anyways).

Re:I want Microsoft to be the Gatekeepers!

[$nyper]

Does this mean that Rick Moranis will be repriseing his role as the KeyMaster.

Ghostbusters (It was 80s thing) most of you will not understand.

Re:I want Microsoft to be the Gatekeepers!

[A coward on a mouse]

I suspect that in addition to being a wanna-be-nudist, you must also be a major stockholder in a paper seat-cover company looking to expand its market. You can walk around naked all you want, as far as I'm concerned; it's when you sit down that I will have a problem with your nakedness.

Re:does not apply..

[irktruskan]

My apologies, I was not aware that I was wielding large caliber weapons with the intent to rearrange my jawline.

As for IE6, I just left Windows XP land completely several days ago because of massive incompatibilities. (lets not get into XP bashing/defending please) Objectively though, what little surfing I did within it was alright, save the fact that IE6 does break the search abilities of www.pricewatch.com. (at least it appears to- happens on multiple XP systems but only in IE)

To clarify, I was infact referring to varying versions of Internet Explorer. In an attempt to give Microsoft some credit (this goes against my nature) I imagine IE's ability to render horrid code accurately stems from their wish to have IE render FrontPage pages without hitch.

Just for the record, two questions for ya. How am I shooting my mouth off? This I am truly curious to know. Also, how did you manage to fill in the blank I left with Navigator? I referred to Mozilla distinctly outside the "certain other browser" motif.

-irk

Re:Microsoft's Future

[Anonymous Coward]

Microsoft sure knows how to make great and secure products so leave them alone.

Why can't you people admit that MS makes better products? You want quality you pay for it. If you want inferior products from Sun and Redhat, go ahead and get it. I plan to move my entire IT infrastructure to MS. They make the best product, I get the most productivity from my workers with MS. I am overly impressed with their innovation, stability, scalability, and security. I am getting a great bargain for the money I am paying.