The Era of the Trident Engine
> One part of why Microsoft's ideas didn't really catched on was that we developers just didn't get it. Most of us were amateurs and had no computer degree.<p>Personally, I'd say it was mainly because we were tech geeks who, back then, actually believed in a web that should be accessible to as many different platforms as possible using as many different browsers as possible, not just Windows and IE users.<p>In a sense, that notion prevailed: the web is ubiquitous, browser lock-in is considered a douche move and you can still access some really worthwhile sites even with rather simple means.<p>In another sense, we all failed, lending our hands to help create the current privacy-invading, dark-patterned UX nightmare we're still trying to pass off as a reasonable way of making the world a better place.<p>I never thought I'd lament the day Microsoft stopped making their own browser core. As a web developer, one less rendering engine to GAF about is nice. As a netizen, the Google dominance is going from unsettling to scary.