3-21-15 Hodgepodge

Microsoft Makes It Official

According to USA Today, Microsoft is going to "kill off" the Internet Explorer brand, and use a different name (yet to be determined) for its next generation web browser:

Cue the dirge for Internet Explorer, Microsoft's much maligned browser.

And, much later:

"Microsoft is making compelling software right now, software as good as Google and Apple. But they still have a perception of lagging and they are trying to break that perception and that includes retiring brands," said BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis...

Over the years, the browser became the bane of some office workers' daily lives. A series of security flaws also damaged the brand.

Microsoft slowly killed off its browser brand by refusing to comply with standards -- until it became apparent that the company couldn't dictate them; and by assuming that the ubiquity of its operating system would save it from having to innovate -- until that, too, was demonstrated to be false. So the company is really merely admitting that their brand is dead. We'll see if it acts differently going forward with its new browser.

So much for the oft-alleged ability of a monopoly to dictate terms to its customers.

Weekend Reading

"It's more reassuring to think, 'How am I handling this, and what can I do to make it better?'" -- Michael Hurd, in "Doing Less Doesn't Necessarily Mean Less Stress" at The Delaware Wave

"The greatest compliment someone can pay to you is to render a thoughtful, well-delivered assessment of something you possibly handled wrong." -- Michael Hurd, in "Caring Enough to Have an Opinion" at The Delaware Coast Press

My Two Cents

Not only is constructive criticism a high compliment, it can be a huge favor. See "hunting the negative".

When Government Acts Like a Criminal Enterprise...

... criminals will act like government officials:

Fake IRS agents have targeted more than 366,000 people with harassing phone calls demanding payments and threatening jail as part of a huge nationwide tax scam that has cost taxpayers $15.5 million.

Currently, there is a way to tell the difference between these gangs and the gang in charge: The latter still has a ... duly predictable ... process for picking your pocket, and will not "initiate contact by telephone", among a few other differences.

-- CAV