Now leave behind the technology side and look at things from a content perspective. Streaming media is more about content than any other Web environment. Ultimately, it is all about content. Even Microsoft itself has realized this and invested heavilly in acquiring control over digital content. Now let's say you are a large content company like Disney. You're probably not eager to hand business to a company that may be a serious competitor someday. So why use that competitor's technology in delivering your content? The answer is that you don't. You either support the underdog companies or balance Microsoft with another streaming format. Look around the Web and that is exactly what you see.

So the irony is this. If there is one company that has the might and positioning to create streaming standardization, it is Microsoft. But because of their power and leverage, they simply cannot do it. They can only sit and wait.

That said, Microsoft has kept in the game. Once losing to QuickTime on the multimedia CD-ROM front, Microsoft has resurrected their digital video efforts on to the Internet battleground. Despite some limitations in cross-platform players and authoring tools, Windows Media Technologies and their Advanced Streaming Format (ASF) is a solid environment in which to work. The old gunfighter may have his back to the wall, but there are bullets in that six-shooter.