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Microsoft Tweaks Browser Ballot As EU Deal Nears

Posted by Soulskill on from the roll-1d6-and-a-browser-will-be-assigned-to-you dept.

CWmike writes "Microsoft has revamped the browser ballot screen demanded by European Union antitrust regulators and may get final approval as early as Dec. 15, a source familiar with the case has told Computerworld. As first reported by Bloomberg, Microsoft modified the ballot screen after rivals, including Opera Software and Mozilla, demanded changes. Last month, Opera, Mozilla and Google submitted change requests to the European Commission, asking that the order of the browsers be randomized and that the ballot be displayed in its own application, not in Internet Explorer. According to the source, who asked not to be identified because the terms of the settlement have not been officially approved, the top five browsers — IE, Firefox, Chrome, Opera and Apple's Safari — will appear in random order each time the ballot is displayed."

2 of 187 comments (clear)

  1. Nice hair! by Itninja · · Score: 1, Redundant

    If they appear one at a time in random order, and assuming the browser names' first letter is the first thing in each line, we could occasionally get COIFS!

    --
    I judt got a nre Kinesis keybiartf so please excusr ant egregiou typos.
  2. This is just stupid by rudy_wayne · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I'm no fan of Microsoft, but I'm on their side with this one. This is just stupid. There's no reason Microsoft should have to do this.

    1. All the browsers listed are free (as in you pay zero for them). Selecting something other than IE gets them exactly zero in additional revenue.

    2. If you are too stupid to figure out how to download and install an alternative web browser, how is that Micorsoft's fault or problem?

    C. Why not demand that Microsoft offer alternatives to every application that is bundled with Windows? (Notepad, Paintbrush, etc)