Just got done reading Glenn Reynolds’s latest article on the blog world vs. the establishment media over at MSNBC.com. At the end of the article, I noticed two enticing videos taken from the CNBC show Kudlow & Company. Larry Kudlow—a particular favorite of mine—had interviewed Reynolds, Roger L. Simon and Charles Johnson (of LittleGreenFootballs.com) about their new Pajamas Media blog venture.

So, as a man in my position might reasonably do, I clicked the link to watch the video. Much to my dismay, I was greeted with a message saying that my operating system was not supported. Oh, the humanity!

As a Mac user, I am apparently a second-class citizen at MSNBC.com. But why? Well, I’m not entirely sure, but just to prove that I can weave a conspiracy theory with the best of ‘em, here goes: the MS in MSNBC stands for Microsoft. Macs use an operating system far more elegant than any Microsoft offering, so perhaps the snub is some form of technological jealousy and/or calculated effort to make Macs appear “less compatible” than Windows-based PCs. Microsoft’s history in this regard is certainly less-than-stellar.

Why do I assume Microsoft is the perpetrator of this cyber-lockout and not the latter 60% of the acronym? Simple: MSNBC.com showcases NBC’s two cable news properties, MSNBC and CNBC, both of which have such dismal ratings that they can ill afford to erect artificial barriers between themselves and potential viewers.

The strange thing is, Microsoft has the technology to allow its videos to play on a Mac; my Mac has a program on it called “Windows Media Player” by a company named Microsoft. And I know it may sound shocking, but I’ve even managed to play Windows Media videos with it!

MSNBC.com shouldn’t require visitors to use Microsoft’s player at all, much less require that they also run the Windows operating system. They have every right to do so, of course, but it’s strikes me as short-sighted from a business standpoint. The incompatibility certainly can’t be a technological hurdle. After all, if a two-bit punk like me can figure out how to set up a website that serves QuickTime, RealPlayer and Windows Media files to Macs and PCs, Windows and Linux alike, surely the mighty Microsoft can get it done. So why doesn’t it? That’s a good question...