With so many combinations of incompatible hardware and software, it was difficult for anyone but a dedicated hobbyist to use computers productively. The open architecture of the PC changed that. Meanwhile, the growing popularity of Microsoft s MS-DOS and Windows operating systems led to the development of thousands of software applications that could run on any computer running the same standard operating system. And the development of a common graphical user interface enabled software developers to create programs that were easier to use and had a familiar look and feel. It has also led to the creation of a thriving PC industry that employs hundreds of thousands of people, and contributes hundreds of billions of dollars to the U.S. economy annually.
Standards continue to drive computing forward.
For example, almost everything on the Internet, from the protocols that move data around the network to the software behind the World Wide Web, is built on open, consensus-based standards. Utilizing these common Internet languages, anyone can create software, services and content, knowing that others will also be able to use them. XML is such a powerful and flexible lingua franca that industry analysts predict nearly half of all e-commerce transactions will use it by 2003. By allowing you to have much greater control over your personal information, including the ability to prevent Web sites that don t meet your standards from accessing your data, P3P is a major step forward in ensuring privacy on the Web. At Microsoft, we have built our business on standards, and we re betting on XML as the technology standard that will drive the next generation of the Internet.