__/ [ BearItAll ] on Thursday 04 May 2006 16:55 \__
> nessuno@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
>
>> "Windows Live Shopping apparently has message for Firefox users: Don't
>> bother. It seems that the comparison shopping site just doesn't work
>> with the open-source browser.
>>
>> " Microsoft Corp. has released in beta this week its Windows Live
>> Shopping site, but Firefox users will have to switch to Internet
>> Explorer if they want to look for bargains.
>>
>> "A visitor trying to access the new site with Firefox on Wednesday
>> found his browser directed to a page that said, 'We're sorry. Windows
>> Live Shopping Beta does not yet support Firefox. We're working to
>> correct this as soon as possible.'
>
> "Working to correct it", my arse. The browser is a view on a page created
> at the remote server, the only reason browsers are excluded is because they
> choose to exclude them, it has nothing at all to do with functionality.
Live.com could become one more site/network to deter the avid Firefox user
(on Microsoft Windows) from ever using it again. Us Open Source advocated
would be more stubborn, but not Joe Average.
Some months ago I recommended Firefox to a colleague (a Microsoft fan). After
a while he returned and said that he couldn't get a video to play in Firfox
(or something to that effect). He also added "it's better to have half a
loaf (IE) than no loaf at all (Firefox incompatible/denied)".
> On all sites I have wanted to access that claimed I can't because I don't
> have IE, if I fake being an IE, which is nothing more than a text string
> that tells the host what browser you are using, everything works as normal.
Yes, but it makes a wrong impression! As a statement which spits at the
practice of user-agent string sniffing (is _THAT_ what they teach 'em in Web
design college?), I modify my HTTP headers as follow:
App name: None of your business
App version: 1.0b
Platform: GNU/Linux
Vendor: Mom & Dad
So fine, it spits junk into the stats of them sites. It also adds to the
"Unknown" or "other" slice of the pie. Then you have people say that Linux
has less than 5% of the entire market share...
It will be really funny when we reach the day when, in practice, half of all
the computers worldwide (e.g. $100 laptop will be 300-500 million in number
within 2 years) run Linux and Microsoft will argue that 95% of all the
computers are sold with Windows, which is an implication of their prevalence
(game developers and such will fall for that FUD). Browsers likewise...
> That means that the sites are Not IE specific in any way what so ever. It
> is just another way to try to push none MS users asside.
>
> So these days I never fake being IE, if sites don't want me to see their
> catalogues or music stores or what ever it is they are selling, I don't
> mind at all, I just go to another one that doesn't deliberately exclude
> browsers.
>
> This isn't just a linux thing, the internet is meant for anyone on any
> device capable of being a viewer for the Internet, with any browser. It
> isn't MS's baby. Both W3 and Sun work very hard to bring us software
> standards and code engines that will work the same on every platform. W3
> even gives a section on best practices with small screen devices, so pages
> for those can behave well even if full browser functionality isn't
> available.
>
> We mustn't let MS continue with IE specific pages, so I think that whether
> you reading this are a MS advocate or not, when a page claims you need IE,
> move on to another site.
It will never make the claim. That's the problem.
I have already yelled at my parents' bank because it prevents them from using
Firefox comfortably. Why should my parents be forced to use rusty, buggy,
adverse to standard, non-secure and functionality-lacking Internet Explorer?
Because of some arrogant bank? I told them my parents use Linux, which is a
lie. They had no response. No Windows, no online bank?
Best wishes,
Roy
--
Roy S. Schestowitz | Linux: most popular O/S, yet not most widespread
http://Schestowitz.com | SuSE GNU/Linux ¦ PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
5:00pm up 6 days 23:57, 13 users, load average: 0.69, 0.76, 0.57
http://iuron.com - help build a non-profit search engine
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