Polish Lessons
by Mitch Stone, the Accidental Expert
Some days, I feel Polish. Not ethnically, you understand, but spiritually.
Poland has always struggled for self-determination. But over the centuries, European geography has conspired against it -- they've been repeatedly divided and conquered by their powerful and greedy neighbors.
Whenever the leaders of Germany and Russia sat down for a little chat, the Poles had to roll their eyes heavenward and say, "Here we go again."
The last time this happened, in 1939, armies marched in from east and west, and the Polish nation vanished for another 40 years.
History fans know that these occupying powers were really scorpions in a bottle -- traditional rivals who could agree on only one thing: the mutually convenient elimination of an independent Poland. These two competitors were only putting off the day when they would grapple with each other for the really big prize.
So why do I feel a new kinship with the Poles? Because today, the two great powers of the Internet are holding summit talks.
For show, Microsoft and AOL-Time Warner are negotiating instant messaging and multimedia standards, and whether the Microsoft or Netscape Web browser will be integrated into the AOL client software. In fact, these are the only issues on table, as far as we know.
But don't be distracted by the public agenda. What these two behemoths are really negotiating is the occupation of the Internet.
Perhaps the only two things these companies can agree upon is that a genuinely independent Internet doesn't serve their business interests. They both envision the Web as adjuncts to their respective empires.
AOL has already carved out its own, private Internet realm, and anticipates extending its dominion over the rest. Their secret weapons? Armies of subscribers, and the recently annexed Time Warner publishing empire.
But for the time being, at least, AOL's expansionist agenda will be limited. They need the cooperation of Microsoft, the chancellors of the computer desktop.
Microsoft is opening up another front in the assault on a independent Internet, with the release of the newest version of its Windows operating system, Windows XP, due in October. A feature of Windows XP called Smart Tags will allow Microsoft to insert links into any Web page.
These links won't be created by the owners of the Web sites themselves -- no, that would be too much self-determination. They'll be inserted into pages by the Windows operating system, giving Microsoft the power to point readers to whatever content best serves the company's interests.
Editors, journalists and webmasters are expressing predictable outrage over the Smart Tags scheme. In fact they're even threatening to unleash their finest mounted cavalry against this advance into the previously sovereign territory of the Internet.
(On Thursday Microsoft announced a delay in the inclusion of Smart Tags in Windows XP, given "legitimate concerns that we need to address before this technology is ready to deliver on our vision of the Web for consumers.")
But Smart Tags isn't the only prong of Microsoft's assault on the Internet. Another feature of Windows XP, called Passport, will demand your credit card and other personal data if you activate certain features of the new operating system. This information will be filed on Microsoft's servers.
Theoretically, Passport will permit Windows XP users to make "one click" purchases on Web sites -- at least, those Web sites blessed by Microsoft.
Some people are squeamish about leaving personal data on deposit with any company, so Microsoft insists that Passport will be strictly optional. But members of the Microsoft Developer Network are already feeling the boot heel in the back -- they're being given the choice of signing up for Passport, or losing access to important services.
Ultimately, the goals of these two Internet imperialists probably can't be resolved peacefully. Perhaps they'll even neutralize each other's territorial ambitions. More likely, they'll agree to draw new lines on the map, without consulting us, the citizens of the Internet.
So today is 1939 in Internet years. Maybe we should all feel just a little Polish.
2 July 2001 |
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