Re: comment on curious Microsoft coding in the RISKS digest
Michael Lorrey (retroman@together.net)
Tue, 21 Oct 1997 19:57:02 -0400
> ------- Forwarded Message
>
> Forwarded-by: Lloyd Wood <L.Wood@surrey.ac.uk>
>
> from RISKS 19.41.
>
> Date: Fri, 10 Oct 1997 21:41:18 -0700 (PDT)
> From: "Bryan O'Sullivan" <bos@serpentine.com>
> Subject: Risks of installing Internet Explorer 4.0
>
> I just downloaded and installed Microsoft Internet Exploder 4.0 onto my PC
> running Windows 95 at home. Among the optional features that come with
> this release are a few tidbits that were included with Plus!, the
> mostly-useless set of bells and whistles that was packaged separately from
> Windows 95.
>
> Two of these features are opaque window manipulation (when you move or
> resize a window, the entire window moves in real time, rather than a
> rubberband representation being tweaked) and anti-aliasing of large fonts.
> The anti-aliasing feature is quite useful; it makes fonts in large point
> sizes noticeably less pixelated. However, in this feature lies a small,
> and somewhat malicious, piece of code.
>
> This snippet of code apparently checks to see whether it is being asked
> to render a font by the Netscape Navigator browser (or, indeed, any
> component of the Communicator 4.x suite). If it is, it gives back a plain
> old jagged-edged font; otherwise, in every instance I have been able to
> check, it gives back an anti-aliased font.
>
> This appears to be a clear instance of discriminatory coding on the part
> of Microsoft, and is intended, one presumes, to make Navigator look
> somewhat cruddy in comparison with MSIE (not to mention all of the other
> software on a system). It begs a troubling question: what other features
> were included in MSIE 4.0 that were intended to, in some sense, impede the
> software of Microsoft's competitors?
>
> ------- End of Forwarded Message
I would suggest that it is possible that either a) Netscape didn't have
its anti-aliasing sh** together when Microsoft needed it to be to make
it into this version, or b) bratty little Andreeson won't play at all.
Considering that Word x.x can't import concurrent WordPerfect files, and
vice versa, only older verions files, this shouldn't be too much of a
surprise that the current browser releases aren't totally transferable.
Considering how whiney Andreeson has been in using the Justice
Retardment to enforce his mercantilist leanings in the face of a lack of
competetiveness technologically, I would give equal weight to
possibility B.
--
TANSTAAFL!!!
Michael Lorrey
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mailto:retroman@together.net Inventor of the Lorrey Drive
MikeySoft: Graphic Design/Animation/Publishing/Engineering
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How many fnords did you see before breakfast today?