[PRL] Martian Headsets

[William D Clinger]

The robustness principle was actually the right thing,
but you also need a Spanky mode.  One of the nice things
about a Spanky mode is that it reveals as much about the
errors made in the standard itself as in the individual
artifacts that attempt to conform to the standard.

Of course, you can't actually build a Spanky mode when
the standard hasn't been formalized.  That's why a
Spanky mode could not have saved Microsoft from Vista.

It should also be noted that IE was notorious for its
poor adherence to standards.  Microsoft created its own
dilemma.  That's the real moral of Joel's story.

Will