Re: CSS is doomed (10 years per version ?!?)

On 7/1/05, Philip TAYLOR <P.Taylor@rhul.ac.uk> wrote:
> Having agreed with some of Orion's earlier
> ideas, I cannot help but disagree with him
> very strongly here :
> 
> > No, I'm saying that if Microsoft produced a replacement for CSS or
> > XHTML or whatever, I'd probably like it because they've bothered to
> > create a feeling of trust in the company. I get the impression from
> > them that they listen and aren't idealists. They care about my ability
> > to program and to make a living. They care about my ability to write.
> >
> > That's why I would probably like what they have to offer.
> 
> I, on the other hand, would probably hate it.  Microsoft
> would (I believe) keep the spec. secret, modify IE to
> exploit it, and at the same time do their d@mndest
> to prevent Mozilla (and analogous browsers) from being
> able to use it.  Sorry, but past history demonstrates
> only too clearly that this is how Microsoft operates.
> It makes them very successful, and very profitable, but
> of course opens the door to anti-trust actions.   If you
> had written Adobe where you has written Microsoft, I might
> have had some sympathy (Adobe have been /reasonably/ good
> at making PDF quasi-open (in a read-only sense)), but
> Microsoft unfortunately prefer to dominate by secrecy
> rather than by competing on a level playing field.

This is where trust comes in. It really is all about trust. You don't
trust them and I trust them, but why that is is depedant on the
interactions we've both had with the company.

Me, I don't trust Adobe because every time they try to update their
software they want to install junk that I told them I don't want many
times. I don't want the Yahoo Toolbar. I don't want their picture
library thing. But every time it asks to me to install them.

Trust is about the company playing to your values and through promotion.

Trust is easy to gain, easy to lose and hard to regain.

Now it's time to look beyond either my or your annecdotal evidence and
see what it is like truly out there. That's why I do usability tests.

Orion Adrian

Received on Friday, 1 July 2005 13:12:19 UTC