A Visit from the Empire: Microsoft Comes to the Pi

January 2000

All photos by Steve Kiepe

On a bitter cold day in the uncertain darkness of a winter morning, Microsoft came to visit the Pi in the form of Glenn Myers and Irving Kwong. Confirmed Macintosh fanatics working deep in the heart of the Empire, Glenn and Irving came to show "really neat" software they helped create for the Macintosh. Unlike most visiting vendor representatives, Glenn and Irving weren't selling anything: the "really neat" software is free. Is it worth the price?

Irving Kwong and Glenn Myers team up to present the Empire's point of view. They were persuasive: Outlook Express 5.0 appears to be an excellent free E-mail client, and Internet Explorer 5.0 appears to be an excellent free Web browser.

Irving, a relatively senior Microsoftie with the Macintosh group, is a well-known figure, often quoted in the press. He comes across as passionate about Microsoft, about his work, and about the Macintosh.

Glenn had a formidable task: not only did he have to show Microsoft software in a good light, he also had to field a blizzard of questions about anything remotely related to Microsoft and the Macintosh.

The clear star of the show was Internet Explorer 5.0. Still in beta at the time of Microsoft's presentation, it looked very cool, with user-selectable color schemes (in "candy Mac" colors), customizable icon bars (shown here is a selection of icons to add to the toolbar), and a host of new features "under the hood." Since the January presentation, it has also proven to be a big hit: while relatively few Macintosh users have migrated to Microsoft Outlook Express, a huge number (still short of a majority) have started using Internet Explorer 5.0 as their "browser of choice."