Microsoft Agrees To EU Browser Ballot Screen

An anonymous reader sends in coverage from Ars Technica of Microsoft's capitulation to the EU, after European regulators requested that Redmond bundle multiple browsers on new PCs. "Microsoft has decided that the last thing it needs in this economy is some combination of the following: fines, legal bills, and a delay of Windows 7. It has offered to adopt the European Union's preferred solution for browser competition: a browser selector screen at startup."

Comments

Wimps

[Slothrup]

Go down fighting!

Re:Wimps

[Anonymous Coward]

The correct quote is: In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is.

If you're going to bastardize it, at least make it something elegant: The difference between theory and practice is often much smaller in theory than in practice.

Or even just remove the redundant part of your own version: The difference between theory and practice is that in theory, there is no difference.

For Christ sake, you sound like a retard trying to explain quantum mechanics. "Cows are black and white except when they're brown, in which case they are not black and white because they're brown, unless you put them in a box and then you don't know what color it is unless you open the box which will reveal the color that the cow is, and it will either be black and white or else brown unless it could just be black, or else dead, but only because you looked at it. Anyway, cows have fur..."

Re:Wimps

[Anonymous Coward]

You know, some of us have sig display turned off. Would you please quote what TF you're talking about. Otherwise you sound like a retard answering a question that no one's asked. This goes double in half a year, when your parent has changed his sig to "This is Bunny".

IE will still dominate

[gstep]

My guess is most people will still choose to use Internet Explorer, unless they already use Firefox/Chrome/Safari or whatever. People like what they're used to, even when it's crap. I try hard to convince people to stop using Internet Exploder but they always tell me they like it because it's what they know.

Re:IE will still dominate

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm sure Microsoft is hiring engineers from Diebold to implement the ballot. No matter what you click on you will have a 90% chance of getting IE. The interesting thing is that there will only be a 90% chance of installing IE if you click on IE.

Re:Changes nothing

[RightSaidFred99]

Good god. The whole thing is ridiculous in the first place, now you're going to measure the fucking icons?

Google Chrome

[akcpe]

Here's something I think is interesting but haven't heard mentioned. Since Google Chrome is a likely candidate for the "browser ballot" I can see a scenario such as this: Most people have no idea what a web browser is to begin with as evidenced by: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4MwTvtyrUQ Clearly many people think that "Google" is a browser rather than a search engine. This seems like a great way to exploit that percentage of the population by offering this "browser ballot". Many people will see "Google" and think "Oh! That's what I normally use. I'll choose that" Thoughts?

Re:Stupid people will still be stupid

[Etrias]

My odds are that Microsoft will go with a "butterfly ballot" style and convince them to either install IE or Pat Buchanan.

Why not OEMs?

[Tubal-Cain]

European regulators requested that Redmond bundle multiple browsers on new PCs

Excuse me? I can understand requesting IE to be unbundled, but telling MS to bundle other browsers is just stupid. Let the OEMs do that. I hope the summary isn't having a rare moment of accuracy.

Re:Stupid people will still be stupid

[ifchairscouldtalk]

Easy solution: let's rename Firefox. I suggest Porn.

Good idea for Microsoft.

[RightSaidFred99]

Someone on another forum brought this up. Microsoft should offer a list of about 100 browsers in the EU version of Windows. Literally 100. Put IE first and then put the rest in random order.

Then tell the EU to put that in their pipes and smoke on it.

Re:MS just needs to pull out.

[Anonymous Coward]

You do realize that if they pull out of Europe then Europe will have little choice but to move to alternative OSs right?

The last thing that Microsoft wants to do is push a large market to (possibly free) alternatives.

You're a genius.

[chrb]

Seriously, Microsoft should just pull out of an economy of $18.394 trillion GDP? While in the meantime, the governments involved would most likely invoke the "national security" clauses in copyright treaties to allow piracy of Windows and Office, whilst simultaneously launching accelerated projects to switch to Linux asap? What do you think this would do to the MS stock price? And why should any corporation have the right to violate the laws of democratic nations anyway? Microsoft is not the only corporation to have been fined by the E.U.

Re:In before the morons

[John Betonschaar]

I'd mod you up if I had points, I don't really get it either. It's a good thing if anti-competetive behaviour is punished but the whole browser story really is beating a dead horse. The EU is trailing reality by a few years again, just like when they forced Microsoft to release a Windows-N without Windows Media Player. All the poisoning Microsoft could have done to the market when it comes to media players is already in the past. There really isn't anything stopping you from installing alternate media players or browsers in WIndows, forcing file associations or whatever. As much as I'd love to see the world move away from Windows and Microsoft, I really don't see the point in making their life hard over media players or browsers right now.

I expect the EU to be fining Microsoft for deliberately screwing up standardization of office document formats... In 2020...

Re:Stupid people will still be stupid

[sakdoctor]

Microsoft Porn explorer: Where even looking can get you infected.
Mozilla PornFox: For furries
Google Chrome & latex: BSDM
Opera: It's not porn, it's art.
Apple Safari: Gay and transsexual.
SeaMonkey: Watersports
AOL Explorer: MILFs
Dillo: Masturbation
Netscape Porn Navigator: Necrophilia.

Imagine these choices

[Kashell]

Internet Explorer
Yeratu
Swallow
Tires

I made these up of course, but to your average user, that's exactly what they'll see when they see:

Internet Explorer
Firefox
Opera
Chrome

What browser do you think they will choose? Hmmmm?

Re:Imagine these choices

[Plug]

Could we give them an "I'm Feeling Lucky" option?

Re:In before the morons

[the_womble]

Google is, so Apple and so does Intel

Note that having a monopoly is not illegal - abusing it is. The fines and other actions taken against different companies reflect the extent to which they abused monopolies.