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Microsoft
Exaggerated Downloads
Microsoft said Wednesday its new Web browser had been
downloaded by more than 1 million people in record time, forcing executives to
admit they had exaggerated public response to the previous version released in
1997. Microsoft declared in a news release that customer downloads of Internet
Explorer 5, released a week ago for free distribution over the Internet,
"more than tripled those of the previous record-setting Internet Explorer
4.0.'' IE5 did not pass the 1 million mark until the fifth day after
the product launch on March 18, a Microsoft executive said. But back in October
1997, Microsoft trumpeted claims that IE4 exceeded 1 million downloads in just
two days, marking a new record. The figures should be comparable, because in
both cases they represent only customers who downloaded the software from
Microsoft's own Web site, not the many partner sites where IE is also posted. The 1 million figure announced in 1997 was achieved by
counting anyone who downloaded a tiny piece of code for the browser called the
"Active Setup executable,'' explains Mike Nichols, a Microsoft product
manager. Only a small percentage of those people actually completed downloading
the massive Web browser itself, he says. Microsoft didn't mention this fact
until now. "With IE5 we made the choice to be more rigorous and count only
complete downloads,'' Nichols says. "Either way you measure it, IE5 is more
than triple the downloads'' of the previous version. Overeager for Success? The government lost that case, but then filed the much broader
antitrust action against Microsoft that is currently in trial. Microsoft's image
has taken a beating at the trial, where government lawyers have scored courtroom
points by challenging the credibility of the company's executives on the witness
stand. Microsoft has defended its actions in part by saying it has integrated
the Web browser ever more tightly with Windows to satisfy customer demand. Copyright (C)
1998-1999 The Active Network. All rights reserved.
Disclosure of the misleading news release provides a glimpse into how
Microsoft's marketing machine buttresses efforts to increase its share of the
Internet browser market, which in October 1997 was still dominated by rival
Netscape. Both companies say the browser market now is split about evenly
between the two. Netscape, now a unit of America Online, contends Netscape
Navigator and Communicator holds a substantial lead in the business market.
Also, IE4's 1997 release came as the Justice Department was intensifying its
investigation of Microsoft's business practices, but before it accused the
software giant of improperly forcing computer makers to install the browser
along with Windows.
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