I really think that the press has had a field day with this story... mostly because so few people have seen what Smart Tags can do, that they can work up all the FUD they want. So far, all the SmartTags do, assuming you turn them on, is highlight company names (Microsoft, Compaq, Novell are examples I've seen) and Stock Ticker symbols (MSFT, OWC, TMTA are examples I've seen). With both, the same menu pops up: you can see how the company's stock is doing, search the net for them, etc, etc... And yes, it does direct you to Microsoft's MoneyCentral site and their own search engine. Really, tho, that's because they have the rights to do whatever they want with their own sites, as opposed to getting permission to link to AltaVista or WebCrawler.
Right now, that's it. That's all it does. It doesn't load up a Novell page and say "hey, here's a better product == microsoft.com" or refuse to display RedHat.com. Right now, the SmartTags that are in IE6 (included with XP) are just to show what can be done... it's a 'proof-of-concept' sort of thing. #4, Microsoft has a whole group or articles dealing with how to create and use your own SmartTags in your own webpages. I'm sorry I don't have an exact address for you, but just look up Smart Tags on microsoft.com.
#6, I really think it should be up to both. If the website doesn't want to be SmartTagged, let them use the code. If a user doesn't want *any* of the sites they visit SmartTagged, then they don't have to turn the feature on... Which, by the way, they will have to do. Microsoft has said that SmartTags will be DISABLED by default in the RTM of IE6. Having used the technology, I don't see the big deal, but having read the WSJ article, I do. The WSJ article was a piece of unresearched trash, designed to do two things: Bash Microsoft, and spread FUD, to make other people bash Microsoft.
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