No, We’re Just Part of the Internet

No, We’re Just Part of the Internet — Everyone’s favorite tycoon Bill Gates announced last week that the upcoming Microsoft Network (MSN) – already in manufacturing with the rest of Windows 95 – will have full Internet access ready for U.S. users on 24-Aug-95, the date Windows 95 is to be available. "Think of the Microsoft Network as an Internet community," Gates said. "Our goal here is to make this be a very, very large community." Though this is a far cry from MSN’s original "the Internet is irrelevant" attitude, analysts note that Microsoft is being forced into this stance by other commercial online services like AOL and CompuServe that have aggressively promoted their Internet strategies. It’s worth noting, however, that non-U.S. MSN users can’t expect Internet access until the second quarter of 1996. [GD]