Browser Wars
The Browser Wars I cant remember whether its an urban legend I picked up somewhere off the Net, or if its a scene from a movie or a Monty Python sketch seen years ago, but someone, somewhere planted this image in my mind: In a conveniently distant southeast Asian country, two trucks have pulled over on opposite sides of the road, one red with the universally recognizable white wave gently rolling along its side, and the now officially "classic" cursive lettering spelling out "Coca-Cola"; the other, red, white and blue, featuring another variation on the wave: the Pepsi truck. ... The Cola Wars, taken to their absurd extreme. ... The scene is in fact so absurd that I seriously doubt it ever took place, but the Cola Wars, of course, are real. In the 80s, two books from two authors came out bearing "The Cola Wars" in their titles, and they documented the strategies and battle plans, successes and failures, and above all, the personalities driving the silly but nonetheless not inconsequential narrative. ... And that when we talk about the Cola Wars, or when G. Wayne Miller writes a book called _Toy Wars: The Epic Struggle Between G. ... Not to distract from the reality that real wars with real casualties and spilt blood are indeed fought for profits, but at least we pretend higher ideals are at stake.