Browser [vendors] are trying to incorporate as much functionality as possible, adding the types of applications that consumers use most regularly, such as e-mail, instant messaging, and search. The general trend is to own the online users experience from end to end. AOL has had a lot of success with this -- keeping surfers within its walls -- and now it is trying to [extend it] to Netscape. |
I hope it's taken seriously, and I hope it drives organizations to consider these things more seriously, because they're going to come up again in the future. These kinds of organizations have to be sensitive to the laws of foreign countries. |
If you're an advertiser that loves pop-ups, and suddenly there's a large percentage of the Internet audience that can't see those ads, you'll react negatively. |
It's like having a department store, and not having individual departments and expecting (consumers) to find what they are looking for, |
Some standards that are specific to the Internet need to be put in place for cases like this. An organization that's based on the Internet and understands the properties of the Web... should be the one to set the standards for major Web-based organizations (such as Yahoo!) to follow. |
These companies are in a far better position than they were in the past. |