On 1/8/07, Oren Beck [email protected] wrote:

Ok- we have a few opinions favoring simplicity. Here's my next re-imagination of what could be.

The "page" currently can probe for some details of what's looking at it. YES, that's an oversimplified explanation but for this concept it works. So- as is already done by some sites- the "version" of what you see is selected for your device or connection or both. But can we go a bit farther? As in an agreed upon default backchannel in the browser to tell sites

"Show me <Blank> and do not ask me <blank> that GETS HONORED.

The reward is:Sites honoring such a scheme will get customers pre-selected for parts of the site's content and not annoy customers with unwanted non revenue content Which to me is that flood of "Plug-in" demands and the constant begging us to update our <Blank> "To fully enjoy this site" Or the more grim- it simply won't play at all with non-genuine MS. Believe and puke- there are plans afoot to tie WGA to browser access! . And sadly we still have to code OUR sites to play nice with windows. Now the inversion of course is sites hostile to non-explorer browsers.

I put it like this- while one has a "right" to make sites allow or forbid certain browsers in personal work- "Public" sites such as government or educational do NOT have a "right" to block handicapped or nonMS users.