I gave the recipe "Sauteed Mushrooms" 4 out of 5 stars on BigOven.com. One additional tip -- try to use a very large, flat-bottom pan. You want to get as much space as you can between the mushrooms, or they''ll steam and not brown. - Steve Murch

I posted the recipe "New York Strip Steak Cobb Salad" on BigOven.com. - Steve Murch

"I never argued that IE was functionally better. It still isn't today. I said that Microsoft had an ability, just as all other OS providers have, of including it in the operating system. They took advantage of a delivery platform that they themselves had built. Just as Apple has the ability to bundle in a browser in its OS. You seem to argue that because IE was bundled in that this stopped innovation. WRONG. Innovation in the browser market has done just fine, and the companies and organizations that are doing it are also doing quite well, on balance, IF they have a good product. Again, the OS as you're narrowly defining it is the Intel 80xxx chipset OS market. And yes, you're quite right, Microsoft has a dominant share. But that's primarily because the vast majority of consumers and developers -- not including you, mind you -- have voted in the marketplace with their dollars, and said that's what they wanted. It happened with betamax vs. vhs, it's happening today on the mobile phone..." - Steve Murch

"Consumers want standardization because they desire lowest-prices for the most ease & power, and things like ease of file sharing. Developers, in turn, seek to develop applications not for tiny niches, but for large platforms. You see this pattern replaying itself over and over again in the videogame console market, the mobile phone market, and much more. Just "wishing" that consumers kept an open mind won't make it so. The higher up the stack you go, the less the natural monopoly tendencies exist, so yes, to a certain extent file standard natural-monopoly tendency pressure is less than OS natural monopoly pressure,. But you seem to imply, wrongly I think, that the reason that CP/M, NeXT, and other operating systems died in their infancy was due to the nefarious acts of others. But you're ignoring that this kind of natural monopoly pressure exists and has repeated itself over and over again -- from VHS/Betamax to Atari vs. Nintendo vs. Playstation to TV cable boxes, to satellite radio,..." - Steve Murch

">> "If you had multiple browsers competing from the beginning on features and performance and innovation rather than one able to snag the whole market for years at a time" Huh? That's what happened. Netscape's browser was released. Opera, Mozilla/Firefox, Flock and others continued to innovate. Microsoft had a very nice advantage, as did Sun, Apple and any other operating system seller -- they could bundle in the browser. But that still didn't prevent millions and millions of downloads of other products. Microsoft didn't shut down the browser innovation, as the history has clearly shown. I completely agree that Firefox 3 is a better browser right now, and perhaps IE8 or IE9 will surpass what's in the market at the time. Who knows." - Steve Murch

"You're ignoring the simple fact that operating systems are natural monopolies. Consumers want applications. Applications developers want standardization. There are natural pressures to settle on a standard early on, and MSFT capitalized on it. Every other company you mention had a chance, and today, OS/X, Linux, and others have a chance as well. If you run Linux (it's many flavors), OS/X, AND Windows in your home, you're in a very, very small minority of consumers. The vast majority want a standard." - Steve Murch

"As an ex-MSFT employee ('91-97), I'm pretty biased, but I'm sooooo tired of that old canard that says Microsoft never innovates. It's such lazy journalism, and even lazier blogging and "digg"-ing. Does Microsoft build on the innovations of others? You bet. Does Apple? You bet. Does Linux? You bet. Here's a small list of innovations that no one seems to give Microsoft any credit for, but should: 1) XmlHttpRequest(): Without it, Web 2.0 wouldn't have AJAX, the ability to asynchronously send messages from a browser to a server and have them render without a postback. It's what gives Web 2.0 sites their fluid feel. Inventor: Microsoft, and it made its first appearance in 1995. 2) XBox Live: The very first high-speed gaming network for consoles. Tremendously innovative, with real-time voice chat, and now a full-blown marketplace that in some respects is even more innovative than the impressive iTunes/iPod combo. (Fair disclosure -- I ran the first Internet gaming group at Microsoft from..." - Steve Murch

I gave the recipe "Steve's Chicken Peach Salad" 4 out of 5 stars on BigOven.com. This salad would also be very good with ripe mangos instead of the peaches. - Steve Murch

I posted the recipe "Test recipe, please ignore" on BigOven.com. test - Steve Murch

"Let me first say that I'm very biased here because (a) I worked for Microsoft from '91-'97, and (b) I led Microsoft's Internet Gaming Group during my last two years. With that out of the way, let me just offer a few thoughts. First, Microsoft's "Arena" project detailed out avatars like this back in '95, when we first launched our own web-based gaming network (which was, by the way, one of the very first gaming networks on the world wide web). Mii's are cool but do you also criticize Nintendo for motion-sense controllers? Those have been out for quite a while as well, as has online gaming. The point is we ALL stand on the shoulders of giants. Ever use AJAX in a website? (If you use Digg, you do.) It requires a little something called XmlHttpRequest, which came from Microsoft and first made its appearance in Internet Explorer. Ever use Microsoft Access? It was the first fully relational PC database in a major windowing system. (Not Borland, not Ashton Tate.) Ever use Autosum in Excel?..." - Steve Murch

I posted a photo of "Hummingbird Food" to BigOven.com - Steve Murch

I just uploaded a cooking video, "Simple Sole over Greens - Dani Spies Quickbites" to BigOven.com. - Steve Murch

AnnieBananie just gave me a cooking medal on BigOven.com, saying "This medal is for the great new look to our discussion groups. Great job Steve. Thank you". - Steve Murch

I gave the recipe "Chicken Tortilla Soup ala Steve" 4 out of 5 stars on BigOven.com. I added fresh corn, cut from the cob, about 15 minutes before it was finished, and it was a delicious addition. Simmered for about 2 1/2 hours total. - Steve Murch

I am particularly pleased to see "disrupt in search" and "fix our online branding". These are two areas that are absolutely vital for MS to do. I sure hope the "msn" brand gets dropped. Soon. Never liked it. And "Live" is really amorphous right now... In fact, the only MS product in recent memory that I think was branded very well was "Silverlight". - Steve Murch

I gave the recipe "Wendy and Heathers Turkey Chili" 4 out of 5 stars on BigOven.com. Enjoyed this again this week -- a great "set and forget" recipe. Seems to do better simmering for 3 hours or so. Paired with cornmeal muffins and a rainy, cold Seattle evening. Just what the doctor ordered. - Steve Murch

I gave the recipe "Potato Leek Soup In Bread Bowls" 4 out of 5 stars on BigOven.com. I decided not to puree the soup, and left the potatoes, leeks, carrots (added) in a more rustic form. Delicious! Seasoned to taste with salt, pepper and, earlier, thyme while simmering. Served it with a cool Gevertztraminer. Really delicious. - Steve Murch

I posted a photo of "Potato Leek Soup In Bread Bowls" to BigOven.com - Steve Murch

I posted the recipe "World's Best Honey Whole Wheat Bread" on BigOven.com. - Steve Murch

little_fieldmouse just gave me a cooking medal on BigOven.com, saying "I am going to try this recipe on the photo alone! ''Balsamic Chicken On Minted Spinach, Fennel and Grape Slaw'' ". - Steve Murch

BlizzardCooks just gave me a cooking medal on BigOven.com, saying "The Parmesan Crusted Chicken by Sherri is everything the reviewers said it was. Absolutely delicious. We put it over tomato-basil fettucine and poured the Sage-Butter Sauce over it. It was like dining in a 5-start restaurant. Great flavors!". - Steve Murch

I posted a photo of "Grilled Lemon Lime Chicken over Angel Hair" to BigOven.com - Steve Murch

I just uploaded a cooking video, "Site Overview - Try Soon, Search, Food Glossary - BigOven.com Screencasts" to BigOven.com. - Steve Murch

BigOven.com is a social network about food. Now, when I rate a recipe highly, or post a new recipe, photo or cooking video, you'll see it on this feed. - Steve Murch

I gave the recipe "Filet Mignon Medallions (Beef Tenderloin)" 5 out of 5 stars on BigOven.com. Delicious! Had this two nights ago and really enjoyed it. Pair it with blue cheese compound butter, or bearnaise sauce. Just right! - Steve Murch

I posted a photo of "Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps" to BigOven.com - Steve Murch

I gave the recipe "Broccoli, Mushroom and Double Cheese Quiche" 5 out of 5 stars on BigOven.com. Very savory, delicious and versatile quiche. Worth trying with other ingredients, such as bacon, pancetta, swiss, and more! - Steve Murch