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Microsoft Agrees To EU Browser Ballot Screen

Posted by kdawson on from the vote-early-and-often dept.

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."

7 of 438 comments (clear)

  1. IE will still dominate by gstep · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

    1. Re:IE will still dominate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      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.

  2. Why not OEMs? by Tubal-Cain · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

  3. Re:Stupid people will still be stupid by ifchairscouldtalk · · Score: 5, Funny

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

  4. Re:MS just needs to pull out. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

  5. You're a genius. by chrb · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

  6. Re:Stupid people will still be stupid by sakdoctor · · Score: 5, Funny

    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.