Slashdot Mirror
Why Microsoft's EU Ballot Screen Doesn't Measure Up
An anonymous reader writes "A lengthy interview on Groklaw discusses the EU's case against Microsoft. The case is supported by Opera, Google, Mozilla, ECIS, and the Free Software Foundation Europe. The EU has demanded that users be offered a 'ballot screen' to make it easier for users to select other browsers. Microsoft has responded by implementing the ballot screen as a web page inside IE. While this may nominally satisfy EU's demand, it is unlikely to satisfy users who prefer other browsers. In order to select another browser, users must be running IE. Also, users will be shown security warnings when choosing from the ballot. Microsoft's ability to charge patent fees in Europe is also discussed: why are they allowed to charge patent fees where software patents are not recognized?"
This is actually the exact opposite of socialism. Microsoft has an essentially monopolistic position in the market (partly because of network externalities) and exploits it, creating a shitload of negative externalities. All these regulators want to do is correct those externalities, returning the market close to its "efficient" state. This is free market capitalism at work, baby! Of course the way in which they are doing it is ridiculous, but this is the EU after all..it's a miracle they managed to to SOMETHING.
Infinite time means everything that can happen, will. You being you is absolutely incidental. You do not exist.
>>>Of course when they try to exchange tips with their other novice friends they won't be able to be cause they will all be running different browsers. This will make it much harder for the novice to become more proficient. And knowledgable users would very likely be forced to change browsers every time they logged onto a new machine. We would all be annoyed of course, but isn't that the ultimate goal of the "fairness" crowd?
>>>
Do you work for Microsoft?
That's the most-ridiculous argument I've ever heard, and shows clear pro-MS bias. If the web was standardized (and Microsoft bothered to follow these standards instead of being an arrogant "we don't need to follow rules"), then it wouldn't matter which browser you used. They'd all be pretty much alike in their interface to the web, only differing in how they organize their menus.
ALSO:
I can easily imagine an inexperienced user like my brother being scared-off by the numerous "Warning: You are visiting opera.com, an unrecognized and possibly dangerous site," and then deciding not to install Opera. It's equivalent to if I went to buy a Toyota and a bunch of signs popped-up and said, "Warning you are buying a foreign car which might be dangerous." It could lead me to run-away and go buy a Microsoft Ford Explorer instead.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
Microsoft has responded by implementing the ballot screen as a web page inside IE.
Oh fuck off Microsoft. This is just taunting.
I am the lawn!
Anonymous COWARDS writes:
having the ballot as a webpage allows them to change the browser selection as required should download locations change
I thought of that too, but rejected it since Opera, Firefox, and Chrome would keep the web-location fixed, so as to remain compatible with the Win7 Browser Selection screen. If they did change the address then they'd be shooting themselves in their own foot. So hardcoding the FTP retrieval would be a non-issue.
In fact the current design with a webpage is dangerous to the EU's goal. 2-3 years from now Microsoft could change the browser website on purpose, to break the selection functionality, and just have Win7 install IE by default. The EU is unlikely to notice this deliberate sabotage.
You need to learn to think like a criminal, if you want to stop criminal behavior.
The proposal the EU accepted is too easy to undermine and sabotage.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
What's wrong with "automatic"?
On a related note, get off my lawn.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Microsoft has responded by implementing the ballot screen as a web page inside IE.
I wonder how they've could had done it differently. If you provided the install exes along with OS setup, they would be outdated (bad bad thing in browsers).
By your reasoning, IE itself should not have been included with the OS, ever.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
If Ballmer would just suck PJ's dick this would all go away.
So... Your car has automagic gears, right?
You think ATMs are just like human tellers, only run by fairies?
Fortunately most people can appreciate that there are processes at work, entirely independent of themselves, which while they may not entirely understand the technical details of are none the less not supernatural. We live in an age of technology where every day we use hundreds of tools that we do not understand the inner workings of.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC