Microsoft is funny. This morning I read an article from news.com about how Microsoft has been shutting non-IE browsers out of MSN.com. According to the article, it wouldn’t let in Netscape 4.7 for a while because it wouldn’t render properly. It also shut out the Opera browser. Netscape seems to work now but when I go in using Opera I get this message:

Attention: Web Browser Upgrade Required to View MSN.com If you are seeing this page, we have detected that the browser that you are using will not render MSN.com correctly. Additionally, you’ll see the most advanced functionality of MSN.com only with the latest version of Microsoft Internet Explorer or MSN Explorer. If you wish to visit MSN.com, please select the appropriate download link below.

It offered links to versions of Internet Explorer. Microsoft claims that the other browsers are not standard complaint. IE is mostly complaint, this is true, but there are other browsers that are even more complaint. Mozilla browsers are also shut out, which shocks me because it is supposed to be completely standard complaint.

It’s not hard to see what’s going on here. Microsoft is expanding their monopoly. Yes, browsers should be complaint, but when you have a site that is so widely accessed you should at least make viewable versions for all browsers. And then Windows XP is another story all together. I think I’ll stop there before I blow my top.