Alternatives to the W3C

[Len Bullard]

Don Park wrote:
> 
> I think we will all benefit tremendously if there was just
> one browser to support.  If AOL/Netscape exit the browser
> 'business', Microsoft could be 'asked' politely to place IE
> into public domain.  A non-profit open source organization
> could be setup to coordinate merging of Mozilla and IE into a
> universal browser and beyond.

In the short run, yes, but not in the long run.  I do not care to 
see a public service browser because, and call me old fashioned, 
it is too much like a state run car factory.   Competition is 
still the best incentive to innovation.  The key is to define services 
that enable both innovation and reliability.  As engineers, the  
job is to figure out just how to do that.

> Effects of such an event to W3C is somewhat difficult to guage
> though.

Originally, they were to spec and develop enabling technologies. 
Maybe they should turn some attention back to the issues of 
a reliable framework with behavioral fidelity, or work out 
the means by which a web appliance becomes certified.

len



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