Washington Post: More Asterisks Added To Windows XP Icon Policy. On July 30, Microsoft responded to media inquiries by acknowledging that if computer makers placed any icons on the desktop, they had to include the icon for MSN, which competes with AOL. No mention was made of other Microsoft icons.
If you’ve been to New York City, you may have seen the street hustlers who scam tourists with Three-Card Monte, a sleight-of-hand trick that resembles a shell game. The tourist almost always loses, because the game is rigged.
Microsoft’s desktop-icon game has the same kind of feel. Now you see it. Now you don’t. Tell the press one thing to make a big PR splash about how open the company has chosen to be with its Windows desktop, then grudgingly disclose that the supposed openness is a sham.
The only surprising thing, at this point, would be to learn that anyone is truly surprised by this kind of behavior. Expecting a straight story from our favorite monopolist is naive.