Is Microsoft on the war path?

Microsoft recently announced that its new Internet Explorer 10 will be released with “do not track” as its default setting. Considering all the privacy concerns Google has raised in the last couple of years [we’d say more on the issue, but we're scared. We think Google’s watching us right now], we suspect many consumers will lovingly embrace this feature.

However, without tracking, there’s no user data. Without user data, there’s no advertising. Without advertising, there's no money. Without money, well, you can figure out where this is going ...

What’s Microsoft thinking? Does the tech giant have the kind of cash where it can

afford to offer a “do not track feature”?

Perhaps more importantly, what does this mean

for Google?

“Microsoft appears to be the champion of the public with this decision, offering users strong default privacy settings, but it doesn’t take an MBA to immediately realize that this is a business move and, obviously, was made taking corporate accounting into account (no pun intended),” writes conservative blogger Jethro Higgins.

“Serving ads for Microsoft, as described by adage.com, is a ‘money-losing sideshow,’ but for the industry leader and Microsoft’s largest competitor Google, serving ads is the mainstay of their financial model. This decision to turn ‘do not track’ to auto on is an aggressive move, and it indicates that Microsoft is on the war path,” he adds.

Click here to read the rest of Higgins’ analysis.

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