Re: ActiveX developed in naive times?
Hang on, I wasn't touting NT as the e-commerce platform at all.
But, since you raised the issue. I have to ask, what was the alternative on the desktop at the time?
I couldn't see anyone taking a previous incarnation of Windows seriously at this point. There was the Mac but the problem was writing applications for the platform and getting them approved before release. Unix had died in a series of (still continuing) lawsuits between SCO and about everyone else. Linux was still a very much niche operating system at the time and certainly wasn't going to be taken seriously by 'industry'. OS/2 was making a bit of an attempt of kick starting something but never got off the ground.
Even NT didn't get going until NT4. 3.5.1 was a good improvement over 3.5 but it took NT4 to get going.
At the same time the back end of Microsoft miraculously got itself together like in one of those rare moments when the planets align. Windows Server worked, the domains could stand up on its own but make sure that one had a back-up domain controller. SQL Server worked well and Exchange worked too, though that took a bit of a prodding to get going and needed some real Exchange-heads to get to work properly.
On the front end we had NT4, a more or less working version of Office. Though what comprised Office was a strange permuation of any four from six applications: was Access in your version, did we have Publisher in another and was there Powerpoint? And we had Visual Studio as well.
Everything lined up and for the first time we had a good and stable platform from the back end to the front end (okay, the TCP/IP was traditionally ropey as per Microsoft's wont) but we had something.
And with this knocking out the like of Lotus and Novell losing ground too there wasn't any real competition any more to the new Microsoft. So when they stood up and said we're the new e-commerce platform it was a case of industry looking around at the alternatives at the time, shrugging its collective shoulders and saying "You know, I don't see anyone else so you'll do".
With this it did bring some great technologies. COM as I have said before and got down voted for it was, and still is, excellent. And I will continue to stand by that. VBA was also a brilliant technology and it still offers a lot more back in 1997 than I can do now with a lot of these free office tools, espcially those online.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
