There we were thinking the Windows 7 Web browser issue was over. But apparently not. Microsoft has proposed a ballot screen for Windows 7 users so they can each individually select their browser of choice during installation. Fair does, surely. Not so say the people in charge of Mozilla, the community behind Firefox.
Opera and Mozilla complained to the EU about the fact Microsoft include Internet Explorer as an integral part of the Windows operating system. The EU agreed this was unfair and set about persuading Microsoft to change this practice.
Microsoft originally decided to cull Internet Explorer from European copies of Windows 7 entirely, hence Windows 7 E was born. However, Microsoft then acquiesced to the solution the European Union originally proposed - a ballot screen offering a choice of the most popular Web browsers to be presented to Windows 7 users during install.
Everyone should have been happy at that point, especially British consumers who are now set to get cut-priced copies of Windows 7. But believe it or not, Mitchell Baker, chair of the Mozilla Foundation, and Harvey Anderson, the foundation’s general counsel still aren’t happy with the arrangement.
In a recent blog post, Baker complained:
Even if everything in the currently proposed settlement is implemented in the most positive way — IE will still have a unique and uniquely privileged position on Windows installations. It is always there, often with prominent placement in the user interface. Choosing another browser as a default doesn’t change this. Contrast this with all other browsers who aren’t available without separate installation.
While Anderson also blogged about the situation, complaining:
The proposal should be modified to expressly state that Microsoft cannot use Windows Update to trigger any ‘Make IE the default’ consideration unless the user launched IE intentionally and not just as a requirement of another process. Obviously this will take some thinking, and to make it really work, we would strongly recommend that the proposal include a Microsoft commitment to work with browser vendors directly in an informal group, including the commission, so the ballot implementation can be informed by the knowledge and experience of other browser providers.
Seriously? This much discussion and in-depth moaning about what should essentially be a solved issue is completely over the top and
