<s>
Blackbird	B-Library
was	O
the	O
codename	O
for	O
an	O
online	O
content	O
authoring	O
platform	O
developed	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
in	O
the	O
mid-90s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Intended	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
online	O
publishing	O
tool	O
for	O
the	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
MSN	B-Protocol
(	O
The	B-Protocol
Microsoft	I-Protocol
Network	I-Protocol
)	O
,	O
"	O
Blackbird	B-Library
"	O
was	O
born	O
of	O
a	O
Microsoft	O
acquisition	O
of	O
Daily	O
Planet	O
Software	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
tool	O
was	O
first	O
conceived	O
prior	O
to	O
the	O
advent	O
of	O
the	O
Internet	O
and	O
Web	O
as	O
we	O
know	O
it	O
today	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Blackbird	B-Library
"	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
an	O
object-based	O
backend	O
file	O
system	O
in	O
Microsoft	O
Data	O
Centers	O
(	O
Microsoft	O
"	O
Cairo	O
"	O
/NT	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
low-bandwidth-streaming	O
rendering	O
client	O
with	O
page-based	O
layout	O
(	O
similar	O
to	O
Aldus	B-Operating_System
PageMaker	I-Operating_System
but	O
based	O
on	O
online	O
streaming	O
)	O
and	O
embedded	O
interactive	O
client-side	O
ActiveX	B-Application
objects	I-Application
(	O
then	O
OLE	B-Operating_System
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fundamentally	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
SGML	B-Language
standard	O
(	O
the	O
direct	O
ancestor	O
of	O
HTML	B-Language
)	O
for	O
client-side	O
layout	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
became	O
a	O
Microsoft-promoted	O
alternative	O
to	O
HTML	B-Language
for	O
a	O
brief	O
time	O
,	O
just	O
as	O
the	O
commercial	O
Internet	O
and	O
Web	O
Browser	O
were	O
born	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
with	O
scripting	O
capability	O
for	O
HTML	B-Language
yet	O
to	O
be	O
demonstrated	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
means	O
to	O
serve	O
dynamic	O
,	O
media-rich	O
applications	O
and	O
documents	O
that	O
contained	O
processing	O
logic	O
,	O
similar	O
to	O
what	O
a	O
user	O
would	O
experience	O
in	O
a	O
desktop	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pages	O
in	O
a	O
"	O
Blackbird	B-Library
application	O
"	O
would	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
contain	O
video	O
,	O
audio	O
,	O
graphs	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
OLE	B-Operating_System
based	O
document	O
formats	O
without	O
the	O
need	O
of	O
plug-ins	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
technology	O
had	O
already	O
been	O
demonstrated	O
in	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
dial-up	O
service	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
MSN	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
plans	O
were	O
in	O
progress	O
to	O
port	O
it	O
to	O
Internet	O
use	O
over	O
a	O
dedicated	O
protocol	O
,	O
but	O
work	O
on	O
the	O
platform	O
was	O
cancelled	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
overwhelming	O
move	O
to	O
the	O
HTML/WWW/Internet	O
standards	O
commercialized	O
and	O
consuming	O
the	O
computing	O
world	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
by	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
at	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
need	O
for	O
backend	O
,	O
server-side	O
scripting	O
technologies	O
which	O
were	O
lacking	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1995	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
hence	O
refocused	O
its	O
efforts	O
for	O
online	O
development	O
around	O
the	O
Web/HTML	O
standards	O
,	O
including	O
ASP	B-General_Concept
and	O
ActiveX	B-Application
,	O
and	O
the	O
"	O
Blackbird	B-Library
"	O
designer	O
was	O
refashioned	O
into	O
Visual	B-Application
InterDev	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
such	O
,	O
the	O
technology	O
,	O
integrated	O
into	O
the	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
Visual	B-Application
Studio	I-Application
(	O
VS	O
97	O
)	O
as	O
its	O
now	O
Web-standards	O
based	O
core	O
and	O
trademarked	O
as	O
"	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Visual	I-Application
Studio	I-Application
"	O
is	O
an	O
ancestor	O
to	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
leading	O
Web	O
development	O
tools	O
dating	O
from	O
the	O
commercial	O
birth	O
of	O
the	O
Web	O
,	O
to	O
today	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
this	O
,	O
the	O
codename	O
was	O
derived	O
from	O
a	O
Cold	O
War	O
era	O
stealth	O
spy	O
plane	O
,	O
the	O
Lockheed	O
SR-71	O
Blackbird	B-Library
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
centerpiece	O
of	O
Blackbird	B-Library
was	O
OLE	B-Operating_System
,	O
the	O
container	O
format	O
already	O
in	O
use	O
in	O
Windows	O
applications	O
to	O
allow	O
objects	O
and	O
documents	O
to	O
communicate	O
with	O
each	O
other	O
and	O
share	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Blackbird	B-Library
documents	O
would	O
be	O
stored	O
in	O
what	O
was	O
called	O
Blackbird	B-Library
Data	O
Format	O
(	O
BDF	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
structured	O
format	O
based	O
on	O
OLE	B-Operating_System
storage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
SGML-based	O
markup	O
language	O
,	O
Blackbird	B-Library
Markup	O
Language	O
(	O
BML	O
)	O
,	O
was	O
also	O
created	O
to	O
help	O
automate	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
documents	O
,	O
though	O
documents	O
based	O
on	O
markup	O
would	O
be	O
processed	O
into	O
the	O
native	O
data	O
format	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
as	O
OLE	B-Operating_System
objects	I-Operating_System
,	O
so	O
would	O
suffer	O
performance	O
disadvantages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
give	O
developers	O
more	O
flexibility	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
planned	O
to	O
include	O
a	O
utility	O
that	O
would	O
allow	O
conversion	O
between	O
BDF	O
and	O
BML	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
HTML	B-Language
,	O
in	O
any	O
direction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
there	O
would	O
be	O
an	O
application	O
resource	O
installer	O
that	O
packaged	O
custom	O
fonts	O
,	O
OLE	B-Operating_System
controls	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
other	O
resource	O
files	O
for	O
a	O
Blackbird	B-Library
application	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
also	O
advertised	O
that	O
Blackbird	B-Library
would	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
features	O
within	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
like	O
shortcuts	O
,	O
and	O
would	O
allow	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
automatically	O
schedule	O
the	O
delivery	O
of	O
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
were	O
three	O
components	O
to	O
the	O
platform	O
an	O
authoring	O
system	O
called	O
the	O
Blackbird	B-Library
Designer	O
,	O
a	O
visual	O
drag-and	O
drop	O
environment	O
similar	O
to	O
that	O
included	O
with	O
Visual	B-Language
Basic	I-Language
;	O
the	O
Blackbird	B-Library
Server	O
,	O
which	O
ran	O
on	O
Windows	O
NT	O
;	O
and	O
the	O
Blackbird	B-Library
Client	O
,	O
a	O
runtime	O
module	O
to	O
lets	O
users	O
access	O
and	O
run	O
Blackbird	B-Library
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
URLs	O
for	O
Blackbird	B-Library
applications	O
were	O
OLE	B-Operating_System
monikers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
argued	O
that	O
Blackbird	B-Library
development	O
would	O
be	O
cross-platform	O
,	O
since	O
OLE	B-Operating_System
support	O
had	O
already	O
existed	O
on	O
Macintosh	O
and	O
there	O
was	O
work	O
in	O
progress	O
on	O
porting	O
it	O
to	O
Unix	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
guarantee	O
security	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
planned	O
to	O
act	O
as	O
a	O
certifying	O
authority	O
for	O
OLE	B-Operating_System
controls	I-Operating_System
(	O
OCXs	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
encourage	O
third	O
parties	O
to	O
be	O
certifying	O
authorities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Blackbird	B-Library
was	O
announced	O
in	O
March	O
1995	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
upcoming	O
Microsoft	B-Protocol
Network	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
by	O
August	O
,	O
it	O
had	O
been	O
clear	O
that	O
Microsoft	O
intended	O
it	O
to	O
run	O
more	O
widely	O
over	O
Internet	O
protocols	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
technology	O
was	O
later	O
demonstrated	O
on	O
MSN	B-Protocol
and	O
Microsoft	O
released	O
a	O
beta	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
developer	O
tools	O
,	O
but	O
by	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
1996	O
,	O
when	O
plans	O
for	O
a	O
new	O
version	O
were	O
announced	O
,	O
the	O
designer	O
then	O
renamed	O
to	O
"	O
Internet	O
Studio	O
"	O
,	O
they	O
disclosed	O
they	O
would	O
not	O
use	O
the	O
proprietary	O
Blackbird	B-Library
file	O
formats	O
,	O
but	O
rather	O
,	O
standard	O
HTML	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
soon	O
became	O
clear	O
the	O
original	O
project	O
was	O
effectively	O
scrapped	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
designer	O
later	O
became	O
Visual	B-Application
InterDev	I-Application
,	O
a	O
general	O
web	O
content	O
creation	O
tool	O
for	O
creating	O
HTML	B-Language
and	O
developing	O
server	O
pages	O
using	O
ASP	B-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
the	O
key	O
Web	O
technology	O
glue	O
for	O
the	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
Visual	B-Application
Studio	I-Application
,	O
Visual	B-Application
Studio	I-Application
97	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Visual	B-Application
InterDev	I-Application
,	O
as	O
the	O
key	O
Web	O
ingredient	O
to	O
Visual	B-Application
Studio	I-Application
,	O
was	O
the	O
Internet	O
advent	O
of	O
Microsoft	O
Web	O
development	O
tools	O
,	O
binding	O
the	O
previously	O
mass-successful	O
products	O
Visual	B-Language
Basic	I-Language
and	O
Visual	O
C++	O
to	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
included	O
was	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
author	O
ActiveX	B-Application
controls	I-Application
OLE	B-Operating_System
controls	I-Operating_System
that	O
could	O
be	O
embedded	O
in	O
HTML	B-Language
pages	O
through	O
a	O
plug-in	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
would	O
be	O
key	O
parts	O
to	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
Active	B-Application
Platform	I-Application
strategy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
later	O
revealed	O
that	O
Blackbird	B-Library
had	O
severe	O
performance	O
problems	O
because	O
of	O
an	O
over-complex	O
architecture	O
which	O
made	O
excessive	O
use	O
of	O
multi-threading	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
prototypes	O
of	O
the	O
Trident	B-Application
HTML	B-Language
layout	O
engine	O
were	O
completed	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
was	O
shown	O
that	O
the	O
goals	O
of	O
complex	O
layout	O
in	O
Blackbird	B-Library
could	O
be	O
achieved	O
in	O
HTML	B-Language
at	O
better	O
performance	O
,	O
it	O
led	O
to	O
executives	O
to	O
rethink	O
the	O
project	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mark	O
Anders	O
,	O
a	O
former	O
head	O
of	O
the	O
IIS	O
team	O
at	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
has	O
cited	O
Blackbird	B-Library
as	O
an	O
example	O
of	O
how	O
Microsoft	O
has	O
a	O
tendency	O
to	O
over-complicate	O
software	O
and	O
compared	O
it	O
to	O
other	O
projects	O
like	O
Longhorn	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Blackbird	B-Library
was	O
later	O
referenced	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
antitrust	O
suit	O
against	O
Microsoft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
argued	O
by	O
the	O
prosecution	O
that	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
's	I-Protocol
efforts	O
to	O
transform	O
their	O
web	O
suite	O
into	O
an	O
"	O
Internet	B-General_Concept
OS	I-General_Concept
"	O
was	O
seen	O
as	O
competition	O
to	O
their	O
plans	O
for	O
a	O
proprietary	O
Internet	O
,	O
and	O
this	O
led	O
them	O
to	O
adopt	O
an	O
aggressive	O
Internet	O
strategy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Netscape	B-Protocol
in	O
many	O
documents	O
cited	O
by	O
the	O
prosecution	O
was	O
described	O
as	O
competition	O
to	O
Windows	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
it	O
has	O
been	O
pointed	O
out	O
that	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
planned	O
to	O
compete	O
not	O
only	O
against	O
any	O
possible	O
Internet	O
platform	O
from	O
Microsoft	O
but	O
against	O
Windows	O
as	O
an	O
OS	O
in	O
itself	O
.	O
</s>
