# Micro$oft is at it again



## Kirk (Feb 14, 2003)

Opera Press Releases
Opera releases "Bork" edition
The Swedish Chef Goes After Microsoft
Oslo, Norway - Feb 14, 2003
Two weeks ago it was revealed that Microsoft's MSN portal 
targeted Opera users, by purposely provided them with a 
broken page. As a reply to MSN's treatment of its users, 
Opera Software today released a very special Bork edition of 
its Opera 7 for Windows browser. The Bork edition behaves 
differently on one Web site: MSN. Users accessing the MSN 
site will see the page transformed into the language of the 
famous Swedish Chef from the Muppet Show: Bork, Bork, Bork! 

In October 2001, Opera users were blocked from the MSN site. 
The event caused an uproar among Web users and MSN was forced 
to change their policy. However, MSN continues a policy of 
singling out its Opera competitor by specifically instructing 
Opera to hide content from users. 

"Hergee berger snooger bork," says Mary Lambert, product line 
manager desktop, Opera Software. "This is a joke. However, we 
are trying to make an important point. The MSN site is 
sending Opera users what appear to be intentionally distorted 
pages. The Bork edition illustrates how browsers could also 
distort content, as the Bork edition does. The real point 
here is that the success of the Web depends on software and 
Web site developers behaving well and rising above corporate 
rivalry." 

MSN now allows access to users of Opera 7, but is still 
targeting and sending users of earlier versions a broken 
page. This treatment is completely unnecessary, as the page 
would look the same in Opera as in Microsoft's own Internet 
Explorer if it had been fed the same information. 

"We are working hard to make sure the Opera browser works 
well on all Web pages, even those that do not follow the 
Web's standards to the letter," says Hakon Wium Lie, CTO, 
Opera Software. "But it becomes impossible when we are 
targeted and fed distorted pages that don't work in any 
browser. It's like putting a moose in the blender -- a recipe 
for disaster! Microsoft should clean up their act on MSN and 
their other Web sites." 

For more technical documentation, see the article Why doesn't 
MSN work with Opera? 

Opera 7.01 for Windows in Bork can be downloaded from 
ftp.opera.com. 

About Opera Software
Opera Software ASA is an industry leader in the development 
of Web browser technology, partnering with companies such as 
IBM, AMD, Nokia, Macromedia, Symbian, Canal+ Technologies, 
Ericsson, Sharp Lineo (now Embedix), and MontaVista Software. 
The Opera browser has received international recognition from 
users, industry experts and media for being faster, smaller 
and more standards-compliant than other browsers. Opera's 
browser technology is cross-platform and modular, targeting 
the desktop, smartphone, PDA, iTV and vertical markets. 

Opera Software ASA is a privately held company headquartered 
in Oslo, Norway, with development centers in Linköping and 
Gothenburg, Sweden, and a representative in Austin, TX. Learn 
more about Opera at www.opera.com


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## Elfan (Feb 14, 2003)

http://slashdot.org/articles/03/02/14/1256231.shtml?tid=133

Lots o geeky thoughts on the matter.


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