"Opera Software filed a complaint with the European Commission yesterday which is aimed at giving consumers a genuine choice of Web browsers. The complaint describes how Microsoft is abusing its dominant position by tying its browser, Internet Explorer, to the Windows operating system and by hindering interoperability by not following accepted Web standards. Opera has requested the Commission to take the necessary actions to compel Microsoft to give consumers a real choice and to support open Web standards in Internet Explorer."
To view parent comment, click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
Member since:2005-11-29
Neither of those are healthy solutions. I think the best thing to do is offer a link in the shell (Most likely how Windows Live Services are tied into Welcome Center in Windows Vista) which allows the user to download the browser of his choice.
Still I see this as a cold day in hell though. Browser wars are fought by a very niche group of people, my grandmother doesn't care what the hell she's running so-long as the web page displays really pretty.
Do you really think unbundling IE will do anything other than cause grief? Those who don't want IE have already moved on to other means, the Web browser market isn't as cut throat as say the PC Market or the PMP Market.
I mean, there are legitimate arguments here. IE *should* be forced to adopt open standards, even if along side their own proprietary standards. However, unbundling IE from Windows is in my opinion a silly idea, and would give no real benefit to any competitor.
Member since:2006-08-22
"Browser wars are fought by a very niche group of people, my grandmother doesn't care what the hell she's running so-long as the web page displays really pretty."
This is exactly the attitude that Opera's challenging. By sitting on their market share and refusing to properly implement web standards _that they agreed to_, MS costs companies and web development teams millions of dollars in extra testing, development and support.
This is a war that every company with a web presence should be fighting.
Member since:
2007-01-03
You're freaking kidding me right? Did you even *READ* the article?
Look, lifted straight from the article: Opera requests the Commission to implement two remedies to Microsoft’s abusive actions. First, it requests the Commission to obligate Microsoft to unbundle Internet Explorer from Windows and/or carry alternative browsers pre-installed on the desktop.