Microsoft is considering adding a feature to Windows XP due out Oct. 25, that would take users to links predetermined by Microsoft (link to favorable article about Microsoft). The Smart Tags feature automatically scans the Web pages that a Windows XP user browses, and then inserts new links beneath certain words, like the names of companies, products or whatever. If the user clicks on that Microsoft-created link a new browser window opens with more links to Microsoft owned-sites or other sites and Web pages chosen by the company. In its defense, Microsoft told reporters that the technology, called Internet Explorer Smart Tags gives Web surfers "valuable links to relevant information." Dave Winer, a longtime industry pundit and founder of UserLand Software doesn't agree. "Microsoft is now not only a monopoly in operating systems, they are also a monopoly in Web browsers. Will we allow Microsoft to use that power to edit our content?"
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