Quotes & Asides
Below are various quotes and asides regarding Microsoft from Microsoft, the press, or industry notables.

Microsoft | Media | Industry | Notables | Government | Legal Community

"You should go out to all of the significant ISPs and on-line services in your country in May and close licensing agreements. You should also be able to break most of Netscape licensing deals and return them to our advantage because our browsers are free."

Brad Chase, Microsoft Vice President, e-mail to worldwide marketing and sales executives, April 1996

"What is marketing doing to increase this number? Browser share is Job 1 at this company, and [Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2] is the vehicle to get IE3 onto these machines."

Carl Stork, Microsoft General Manager of Windows Hardware Strategy and Business Development, e-mail on OEMs shipping machines with Win 95 installed on them, September 1996

"Most of our [subjects] were Navigator users. They said they would not switch, would not want to download IE 4 to replace their Navigator browser. However, once everything is in the OS and right there, integrated into the OS, 'in their face' so to speak, then they said they would use it b/c there would be no more need to use something 'separate'....It seems clear that it will be very hard to increase browser market share on the merits of IE 4 alone. It will be more important to leverage the OS asset to make people use IE instead of Navigator."

Christian Wildfeuer, Microsoft, e-mail from February 1997 concerning results from an operating system focus group study

"There is talk about how we get more $'s from the 1000+ people we have working on browser related stuff, but I have not lost sight of the fact that Browser Share is still an overwhelming objective."

Paul Maritz, Microsoft Senior Executive, e-mail from July 1997

"I don't understand how IE is going to win. The current support path is simply to copy everything that Netscape does packaging and product wise. Let's support IE is as good as Navigator/Communicator. Who wins? The one with 80% market share. Maybe being free helps us, but once people are used to a product it is hard to change them. Conside Office. We are more expensive today and we're still winning. My conclusion is that we must leverage Windows more. Treating IE as just an add-on to Windows which is cross-platform losing our biggest advantage -- Windows marketshare. We should dedicate a cross group team to come up with ways to leverage Windows technically more. We need to advantage Windows -- more specifically Memphis/NT 5. I'm not saying we shouldn't move IE to other platforms. It's just that we should be selling Windows as the primary platform and IE is a cross platform subset to help out customers. We should think first about an integrated solution -- that is our strength."

James Allchin, Microsoft Vice President, e-mail from December 1996

"I agree that we have to make Windows integration out basic strategy. I met with [David Cole, Microsoft Vice-President, Web Client and Consumer Experience Division] and [Chris Jones, Microsoft general manager and group program manager for Internet Explorer] week before Xmas and went over this basic fact. The pain of this strategy is that we have to subordinate other OEM Windows objectives (eg h/w support) to this. However, I see little option but to declare that we will sync IE4 and Memphis, even if it means missing the 6/97 OEM window with Memphis. I will send some mail to emphasize this."

Paul Maritz, Microsoft Vice President, e-mail from January 1997

"I agree with the syncing plan. It is the only thing that makes sense even if [PC manufacturers] suffer."

James Allchin, Microsoft Vice President, e-mail from January 1997

"If you want to compete against MS, how would you do it? First, you would fight a losing battle, second you could build a product and sell out to MS. Or third you wouldn't start in the first place."

Bob Herbold, Microsoft Executive Vice President

"Both Navigator and IE uninstall easily if you decide to only use one (and if you DO choose just one, might we recommend IE?)"

Microsoft "The IE Challenge" web site, January 1997
(Emphasis part of original source)