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http://www.macnn.com/articles/03/12/22/msnbc.com.with.safari/

MSNBC.com redesign initially blocks out Safari users

updated 08:45 am EST, Mon December 22, 2003

MSNBC.com with Safari

MacNN readers note that the redesigned website initially did not provide support for Apple's Safari browser, however, the company has since enabled the browser: "it seems like they were going out of their way to block apple's browser, safari. i clicked on the year in pictures link off of their homepage and was sent to this page. This goes along with none of their videos--that used to work before the redesign--being accessible. with everyone moving to W3C standards for designing websites why are they intentionally blocking out Mac users." Update: Readers also note problems with some of the multimedia files on the website, including the Flash-based image albums and the WMP video files.

by MacNN Staff

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12/22, 08:56am | report spam | close Reply |
wc3?

don't you mean wd-40? oh, you mean w3c!

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12/22, 08:56am | report spam | close Reply |
?

I love how people just assumed they wanted to "block out Mac users"... not everything is about us.

MSNBC's website has always been poorly designed and implimented, even if it's viewed on a PC.

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12/22, 09:08am | report spam | close Reply |
Wouldn't it be nice...

... if websites were like television signals ... viewable on any brand of Television (er... browser).

Whoops, just woke up ... forgot it's a 'Microsoft' world out there!

Maybe it'd be a good thing if my Sony TV couldn't watch any Microsoft commercials because they weren't compatable?!!!

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12/22, 09:12am | report spam | close Reply |
they should take a tip...

...from IGN, who just makes each page painfully slow - like a minute - to load on Safari. Much sneakier (if you subscribe to conspiracy theories).

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12/22, 09:23am | report spam | close Reply |
Yeah F**kers!

It's just a Flash file... What is not usable on Safari about that. -total bullsh*t

Here's the page it's skipping, you can click the launch slideshow button to view.

http://www.msnbc.com/modules/yip03/launch_page.swf?noCache=284

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12/22, 09:23am | report spam | close Reply |
re: they should take a ti

And what is IGN?

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12/22, 09:48am | report spam | close Reply |
this surprises people why

whether it was intentional or just poor design...
this suprises people why???

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12/22, 10:22am | report spam | close Reply |
Wake up...

Just in case some of you people didn't know...

That "MS" in "MSNBC" stands for "Microsoft".

And yet you seem surprised that it's not compatible with other browsers and platforms?

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12/22, 10:23am | report spam | close Reply |
Re: surprises

Who said anyone was surprised?

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12/22, 10:38am | report spam | close Reply |
Um...you are so wrong

" I love how people just assumed they wanted to "block out Mac users"... not everything is about us."

I wrote to MSNBC complaining and their answer was...

"MSNBC does NOT support any other platforms except for Windows."

You draw your own conclusions.

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12/22, 10:48am | report spam | close Reply |
Letter Writer to MSNBC

It would be fantastic if you would post the letter you got back from MSNBC stating that they do not support any platform other than Windows. Perhaps you should also send it to newspapers and other news outlets. It would certainly seem to me that this is another monopoly violation to encourage only the use of Windows.

I could be wrong and there is no legal tie. However, it certainly smacks of it.

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12/22, 11:09am | report spam | close Reply |
Of course!

Remember the Indian scene in Natural Born Killers where he tells the tale which at the end has the aided rattlesnake bite the woman and tells her "b****, I'm still a snake!"

Folks, this is still Microsoft. They built everything they have on preventing competition. So no matter how many "great" products they build for Macs or divisions they dedicate to Mac products, they're still Microsoft...they're still a rattlesnake!

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12/22, 11:23am | report spam | close Reply |
Why not?

Why can't they block out Safari browsers. Its their site, let them do it. I wouldnt want Safari users in my sites, if your using Safari, STAY OUT!
Your NOT wanted.
Theres are millions of other places you can play. Go!

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12/22, 11:29am | report spam | close Reply |
How typical.

Considering they intentionally broke MSN when viewed with Opera (change the browser ID in Opera and it rendered fine), this isn't surprising - just slimy.

Code for standards. Period.

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12/22, 11:35am | report spam | close Reply |
It's one thing..

When a web site proclaims support for "Windows only" simply because they didn't test it on any other platforms and don't want to field tech support questions from people running Mandrake Linux, Solaris, Mac OS 8/9/X (ie: Lazy I.T.).

It's quite another when web sites go out of their way to make life difficult for people not running Windows, when there's no earthly reason it shouldn't work on other platforms (re: Buymusic.com).

About all we can do in either case is to complain, loudly and in large numbers.

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12/22, 11:50am | report spam | close Reply |
Here you go:

This is the letter MSNBC sent to me after I asked them nicely to fix their website. I have sent it to our state attorney general asking him to please look into this situation as another barrier to entry for Apple. Please do the same if you feel like this is c***. Be POLITE!

Hello (Name),
Thank you for contacting us.

We understand that you are unable to access the videos on our site.

I apologize for the confusion. Please note that MSNBC Video now requires Windows 98SE or higher operating system, Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher, Windows Media Player 9�or later, Macromedia Flash Player 7 or higher, and�Microsoft .NET Passport.

The MSNBC Video content is currently unable to�support Macintosh or other operating systems.

Once again, we regret the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.
Please let us know if there is anything else we can assist you with.

Regards,
Sridevi
MSNBC Support Team

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12/22, 11:58am | report spam | close Reply |
Help Me Out Here

Is there something worth seeing on the MSNBC site, or MSNBC itself for that matter?

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12/22, 12:17pm | report spam | close Reply |
You don't get it

"Is there something worth seeing on the MSNBC site, or MSNBC itself for that matter? "

That isn't the point. This is another example of Microsoft moving into a market, and then marginalizing every one out of it. In this case, the market is internet based news, and they are locking out Mac OS and Linux/Unix from gaining access to the NEWS. What kind of serious news organization would want to prevent ANYONE from accessing their site unless they had a hidden agenda?

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12/22, 12:18pm | report spam | close Reply |
re; help me out...

No.

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12/22, 12:58pm | report spam | close Reply |
who cares?

f*ck microsloth and their MSN site!

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12/22, 01:00pm | report spam | close Reply |
MSN doesn't like Moz

Tried to view an article on MSN with Firebird over the weekend and was uncerimoniously sent to a "you have an unsupported browser" page.

Um... even if my browser isn't officially supported I'd like to TRY to view the content. If sites want to put a small notice at the top of the page warning that your browser wasn't tested for compatibility with their site, that's fine. Throwing people out isn't. (I had this same problem with hondacars.com -- I wrote to them, and they fixed the block to let Mozilla browsers in, and the site works fine.)

The site I put together for work is well behaved. It doesn't block anyone. It has a note that says that it wasn't fully tested with Netscape 4 as that browser hasn't been updated for years, and warns that things may not look quite right, but it won't stop you from trying (it does also contain a link for downloading Mozilla, but doesn't force you to do so.) It wasn't THAT hard to implement, and I did it by myself on my own time. Surely a company with a lot more resources, and money, than I can do it too?

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12/22, 01:02pm | report spam | close Reply |
thank him

battery replacement wasnt an option until he came along...not if apple had their way

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16540-2003Dec19.html

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12/22, 01:02pm | report spam | close Reply |
Pig Vomit's New Job...

Pig Vomit must of got a new job at "W(indows)NBC".....WNBC.....

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12/22, 01:11pm | report spam | close Reply |
Pig Vomit

W-NNNNNBC.
LOL.

-baba booey

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12/22, 01:11pm | report spam | close Reply |
And no pop-up blockers

I have "...Windows Media Player 9�or later, Macromedia Flash Player 7 or higher, and�Microsoft .NET Passport." And I still can't play the rotten videos. Why? One way they fail may be illustrative: I get a window that says, "the video may be blocked by a pop-up blocker. If so, click here." Is all this about MS's desire for pop-up advertisers?

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12/22, 01:20pm | report spam | close Reply |
More Help Me Out Here

When I think news, I think CNN, BBC, New York Times, LA Times, Time Magazine and a slew of others long before I think MSNBC. Heck, I even think NBC long before I think MSNBC. Barring me from accessing a site I don't visit is hardly marginalizing me. It's like suspending the kid who doesn't want to go to school: "Don't want to go to school, eh? Fine - we won't let you! How you like them apples?"

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12/22, 01:34pm | report spam | close Reply |
Works in Linux + Mozilla

Just to note, i'm running Linux on my Mac, and www.msnbc.com loads correct w/o errors just fine. I guess the site is just anti-Mac and not actually "tied" to Windows...Linux Moz and OS X Moz are nearly identical after all. It also works pretty crappy in Konqueror.

More people should try Linux on the Mac's. You could be suprised where KDE 3.2 has reached...

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12/22, 02:15pm | report spam | close Reply |
Re: Works in Linux

"Just to note, i'm running Linux on my Mac, and www.msnbc.com loads correct w/o errors just fine."
Try to play some of the "free" video. If you have to buy a PC to watch the videos, how exactly is that "free"?

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12/22, 02:17pm | report spam | close Reply |
Re: More Help Me Out Here

Dude,
No offense, but your analogies suck. :)

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12/22, 02:29pm | report spam | close Reply |
Works in Linux + Mozilla

"More people should try Linux on the Mac's. You could be suprised where KDE 3.2 has reached... "

Why would I need to do that? I use Linux on x86 all the time and wouldn't trade Mac OS 9 or Windows for it, much less OS X.

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12/22, 02:53pm | report spam | close Reply |
off-topic

"Why would I need to do that? I use Linux on x86 all the time and wouldn't trade Mac OS 9 or Windows for it, much less OS X."

could you be any more off topic? maybe this should be a thread all about you and your boring life?

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12/22, 02:53pm | report spam | close Reply |
Its not worth it...

There isn't any shi* worth the visit on their site anyway..... Just let it go.

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12/22, 03:11pm | report spam | close Reply |
Perhaps it's more like .

... a store you never buy anything from deciding to only accept cash in the future. If they had something I wanted, maybe I'd feel some pain.

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12/22, 03:16pm | report spam | close Reply |
works for me

I use MSNBC as my first source for news and since I upgraded to 10.3.2 and safari 1.1.1 the site has worked better than ver, except for the video issue.

When I initially wrote them I asked if they had tested with Macs. Their reply said nothing about Windows only.

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12/22, 04:05pm | report spam | close Reply |
Site is bad with OS 9/NS

You guys should see how bad the site is with OS 9 and Netscape 7. the page shifts over to the right. I've written several complaints but I'm sure they don't care. To me, this is absolutely inexcusable. There is NO, absolutely NO, technical reason why anyone should design a site that isn't cross-platform compatible. I'm really pissed. I have MSNBC.com as one of my toolbar favorites and now I can barely use the site.

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12/22, 04:45pm | report spam | close Reply |
MSN shoots self in feet

My response last month when I discovered the new MS-NBC website was snubbing Macintosh was simple. I reminded them succinctly that us Apple Mac users/purchasers are generally very affluent; intelligent, educated , enlightened, and all around a better customer profile than the bulk of those bourgoisie who use Windows. If MSNBC wants to alienate such good people with lots of disposable income, it only reveals the depth of their arrogance. It amounts to MSNBC shooting themselves in their feet to spite their two faces.

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12/22, 05:23pm | report spam | close Reply |
It's just one site

...and one that sucks. It kills me though that people seem to believe that Microsoft owns the internet. This is the mentality that needs to be changed.

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12/22, 06:41pm | report spam | close Reply |
re It's just one site

Yes, one site ... but a microsoft technology based site. I have issues with a lot of other 'microsoft specific sites (i.e. WMP,etc.)

I wish someone could just code to standards, but if you said code to W3C standards, people look at you funny and say ... you mean Microsoft?

It hurts hitting your forehead against the wall!

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12/30, 07:28am | report spam | close Reply |
Mozilla on Windows, too

Try it in Mozilla on Windows 2000. I get a nice little picture in the center of the main page saying that this borwser isn't compatible with their interactive features.

Now you know it's not just windows they want you to run.

Ahh... The joys of dealing with a monopoly...

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MSNBC.com redesign initially blocks out Safari users

updated 08:45 am EST, Mon December 22, 2003

MSNBC.com with Safari

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wc3?

?

Wouldn't it be nice...

they should take a tip...

Yeah F**kers!

re: they should take a ti

this surprises people why

Wake up...

Re: surprises

Um...you are so wrong

Letter Writer to MSNBC

Of course!

Why not?

How typical.

It's one thing..

Here you go:

Help Me Out Here

You don't get it

re; help me out...

who cares?

MSN doesn't like Moz

thank him

Pig Vomit's New Job...

Pig Vomit

And no pop-up blockers

More Help Me Out Here

Works in Linux + Mozilla

Re: Works in Linux

Re: More Help Me Out Here

Works in Linux + Mozilla

off-topic

Its not worth it...

Perhaps it's more like .

works for me

Site is bad with OS 9/NS

MSN shoots self in feet

It's just one site

re It's just one site

Mozilla on Windows, too

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