News - Microsoft faces further browser choice scrutiny

[HEXUS]

Windows ballot screen leaves majority of users unaware that there are more than five browsers to choose from, say IE rivals.

Read more.

[dangel]

*screams*

[Grey M@a]

bitch bitch bitch, the moaning scroats.

Here is an idea, make a browser worth using and maybe people will scroll along and have a look at the mess they call browsers.

If the user doesn't scroll right, that's not MS's fault. Tbh MS need to turn around and say its how the EU want it so it's staying as it is.

[usxhe190]

Avant, Flock, Green, Maxthon, Sleipnir and Slim...

I never heard of these browsers haha

[menthel]

Really? What do they expect? The general public has not heard of most of the 5 that you see first, let alone the ones that you can scroll across to using the bloody scroll bar! Its just getting stupid now. And the EU have a new target now, google! Hopefully apple soon too.

[MorrisR]

But more importantly, no way of saying "Go away and never darken my doorstep again, I am happy with what I've got".
I have resorted to deleting the two executables Windows Update dropped onto my system, but I don't know whether its going to work properly. I have no wish to be reminded that I didn't install one of these 12 browsers everytime I turn on.

[cordas]

*BAH* Surely anyone who can't figure out to scroll to the right is unlikely to choose from a list of barely known browsers, those who aren't tech savi are more than likely to choose a browser that they recognise (which i would think would probably be at most 2 or 3 out of those listed in the initial window).

MS are already giving a fair amount away to their rivals, but these complaints are just daft. Out of interest when will Apple follow suit and offer IE/Firefox e.t.c. on their machines?

[shaithis]

In order to provide greater exposure to its browsers, the six developers have proposed the following changes for consideration by the European Commission

or they could put some money into their advertising budgets.....because I have never heard of any of those complainers before.

[Darren]

Suddenly Microsoft has to explicitly link to every other alternative browser on the planet.

To your right there are 3,062 other browsers from which to choose. Windows might take another few mins to install while it loads them all, sorry for the inconvenience -_-

[TooNice]

I've heard of Advent because that's what one of my friend used when I mentioned FireFox to him. I almost tried it too, because at the time, I was still keen on IE's user interface, and that browser kept the look & feel, but added features such as tabbed browsing.

Never heard of the others, but I decided to Wiki them.

Flock: May be handy for people who use social networking applications a lot. Not sure if it's good for one's productivity, but I am not here to judge how people spend their time online (especially when I am just on a forum).

GreenBrowser: No idea why anyone would want a G logo floating all over the place, but the people who do, will know where to get the browser (average Joe will probably ask how to switch it off, and not have Google default to .cn).

Maxthon: Supposed to be the second largest browser in China, so it would make sense for it to be a first screen choice over there.. except that the complaints is for copies sold in the EU.. right? Does seem like a competent browser.

Sleipnir: If 6% market share in Japan is the meant to say much, then this browser is quite lucky to be in the listed 12.

Slim Browser: Not much written on it,. Nuff said?

Advant browser: Not sure how it kept up with time. I am tired of reading

Anyway, I'd say that a lot of those browsers are lucky to made the list. I had my reservations with MS having to put those choices in the first place (even though IE is no longer my main browser), by principle, and I am not sure if it is really such a great thing to ask the average PC users to choose from browsers, when the top few are tried, tested and largely do what they do really well already.

[jackvdbuk]

why is apple not having to do this nonsense aswell?

[Hicks12]

Surely MS should be paid for advertising the browsers for the developers? Its wrong to even make MS do this let alone complain about how they did it!. If the public dont know about your browser then bloody well spend money on your marketing campaign instead of taking it out on MS for having an OS to go with their browser.

This is just getting pathetic mainly because they are crying over this still and even worse, Apple havent had to do anything like this let alone allow other browsers to be installed on their iphones!. Complete piss take this is...

[Malphas]

why is apple not having to do this nonsense aswell?

Because Apple don't have a near-monopoly of the OS market, i.e. the whole reason Microsoft is being held to account by EU regulations (using one monopoly to leverage another)? It's not hard to understand.

[Hicks12]

Because Apple don't have a near-monopoly of the OS market, i.e. the whole reason Microsoft is being held to account by EU regulations (using one monopoly to leverage another)? It's not hard to understand.

Just because MS own the majority market share doesnt mean they have to be penelised, they have been abiding by anti competition laws so how can they be forced to do more than that, its also not on that MS are being treated differently to a company like Apple which actually have quite a significant "monopoly" in the smartphone market as far as i remember and even in the audio makret with the ipod touch, far from being able to avoid anti competitive laws so it doesnt seem right at all.... its not that simple.


edit: didnt read your post correctly, your right apple doesnt have any where near the monopoly in the OS market but MS has actually done what the EU has asked and the EU confirmed it was acceptable, the EU has no right to tell MS to do more as it would be going on their own agreement.

Apple do have a part in the OS market be it mobile or desktop and thats the point im getting at, they need to be treated equal because else its just showing that successful businesses get penelised for following the law and yet other companies get off without that. Another thing is that Apple is always advertising against MS with false claims etc so how can they not be 'attacked' by the EU etc because thats anti competitive aswell!.

[Malphas]

edit: didnt read your post correctly, your right apple doesnt have any where near the monopoly in the OS market but MS has actually done what the EU has asked and the EU confirmed it was acceptable, the EU has no right to tell MS to do more as it would be going on their own agreement.

Yeah, and the EU isn't doing this, this article was about browser makers asking Microsoft, and then the EU for another minor alteration. The EU has yet to do anything about it, and I suspect they might well not.

Apple do have a part in the OS market be it mobile or desktop and thats the point im getting at, they need to be treated equal because else its just showing that successful businesses get penelised for following the law and yet other companies get off without that. Another thing is that Apple is always advertising against MS with false claims etc so how can they not be 'attacked' by the EU etc because thats anti competitive aswell!.

Yeah, again "that's not fair!" isn't a valid reasoning for dictating how EU anti-competition law is implemented. They're not treated equally because Apple's OS share is around 10%, whilst Microsoft's is closer to 90%, therefore when Microsoft bundles a browser in by default (and makes it impossible to remove and has OS updates reset it to default, as they did back in the 9x days) it falls foul of anti-competition law, when Apple includes a browser by default they aren't subject to this because they don't have a monopoly. And no, Microsoft have not been obeying the law, otherwise they wouldn't be in this situation, not to mention the numerous previous cases unrelated to this (antitrust anyone?) that they've been found guilty of.

As for the advertising claims, that's an issue for the advertising standards agencies in individual countries and isn't covered by the EU at all.

[lodore]

I cant believe the EU hasnt gone after apple yet. last time i checked apple wouldnt let any app to do the same job as an application that comes with the iphone/ipod touch. that means you have to use safari.

why is it that so many people use IE,wmp etc? most people dont even look for alternatives. I used to use IE6 but once I found out about firefox I worked out its better than IE but then since i knew other browsers existed I found opera and like it alot.

I really dont understand why the computer industry has alllowed one company such a dominance on the market. people would complain if 97percent of cars on the road only worked on shell fuel.

As an OS I prefer linux but since pretty much all programs only work on windows I dont really have a choice.