Re: Spyglass HTML Validator 1.0 Availability

Somebody just wrote me:
>> The real world has all sorts of variance in quality. The Web won't be any
>> different. Just switch channels to PBS.
>
>The problem is that right now the Web has only two channels: Microsoft and
>Netscape. Hopefully Spyglass etc. will change that.

No no no. Approach this from the content provider's side. That's all that
will matter in the long run. Mr. Gates (and every publisher and TV network)
knows this, and has bought the intellectual property rights to everything
he can get his hands on, plus started MSNBC. Nobody in five years will care
what browser you're using. That's why they're free now. They want to
control content, so they try to control it currently via proprietary means
such as Netscape extensions, CSS stylesheets (so long as they provide an
edge), JavaScript, etc.

The battle over content is being waged via staying ahead of the competition
and pushing content providers into providing proprietary content, as in
putting

    "This page best viewed with blah-blah-blah-Browser using
     blah-blah-blah-HTML-Extensions and blah-blah-blah-Script"

on one's pages (as noted by TBL). Those content providers that choose to
follow standards (a conservative route) can be guaranteed that their
content will be displayed correctly, and they take advantage of these
wonderful, free browsers to boot. There's no damage being done here: the
tools gradually get better, and those who don't use the latest gizmo (such
as frames or JavaScript) can pretty much ignore the noise and simply USE
THE WEB. If you're there for the content, you don't give a hoot about the
glitz. I really don't need or want to have content barking, blinking and
barfing, I just want to read it. That is, if it's worth reading.

Murray

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
    Murray Altheim, Program Manager
    Spyglass, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts
    email: <mailto:murray@spyglass.com>
    http:  <http://www.cambridge.spyglass.com/murray/murray.html>
           "Give a monkey the tools and he'll eventually build a typewriter."

Received on Thursday, 17 October 1996 13:13:03 UTC