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Details Emerge On EU-Only "Browser Choice" Screen For Windows

Posted by timothy on from the what-would-sun-tzu-do dept.

Simmeh writes "Microsoft have posted screenshots and details on their upcoming 'web browser choice screen.' Requirements include being in Europe, and having Internet Explorer set as your default browser. It comes with a few surprises, as the software automatically unpins Internet Explorer from your taskbar, and offers 11 alternative browsers."

10 of 220 comments (clear)

  1. Post-ballot data by RightSaidFred99 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Be interesting to see if this has any effect on browser usage statistics. Would be hilariously funny if IE actually gains traction. I doubt it though, I don't think IE8 is bad at all but even I use Firefox.

    1. Re:Post-ballot data by Wintywasthere · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Based on the recent bad press that IE has had...I really doubt it'll gain anything. To be fair though the people that see this and then haven't already made a browser choice probably haven't seen many recent press releases about browsers. I'm guessing they'll go with the (probably well presented) Microsoft option..

    2. Re:Post-ballot data by icebraining · · Score: 1, Interesting

      When did forcing users to make a choice they don't really understand become good design? Oh, that's right, it never did and this whole thing is a farce.

      By reducing the market share of the browser that supports less features and suffers from most attacks, we reduce the number of botnets and delays for feature support like HTML5.
      And if the user is so clueless he can't decide one of the browsers for himself, what does he have to lose anyway?

      --
      Dilbert RSS feed
  2. No longer true! by MonTemplar · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Windows Update has been separated from IE in both Vista and Windows 7 - and apparently it will be backported to XP at some point in the future.

    -MT.

    --
    -MT.
  3. Re:More to come by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I've only ever seen that attitude out of one community, the Fedora community. I've never seen it anywhere else, and I've been using Linux since about 1993.

    The Slackware community is helpful. The Debian community is extremely helpful. The Ubuntu community is helpful, but there are lots of "noobs" there, so their advice isn't always correct. The OpenSUSE community is extremely professional and provide the best advice I've seen. The Gentoo community is always willing to provide help.

  4. 11 is a crafty choice by MS by dalhamir · · Score: 4, Interesting

    There's a decent amount of research (although, somewhat controversial) suggesting that providing too many choices may actually impede our ability to make rational choices, and would be less likely to experiment with an unfamiliar browser. Overview of some of the research can be found on the Freakonomics blog: http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/02/is-the-paradox-of-choice-not-so-paradoxical-after-all/

  5. 11 browsers? by jc42 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    My first thought was "Can I tell it to load all 11 of them?" If so, it could make the Windows box useful for real web testing.

    I do most of my actual testing on my Macbook Pro, because I have 9 browsers installed there. I also have a linux box with 5 browsers installed. My wife has a Windows XP partition on her iMac that has 3 browsers. For most of these, we had to download them and install them ourselves. A working package of 11 browsers could be really handy, especially when it comes time to reformat and reinstall, which happens quite often with "lab" testing machines.

    Anyone know if MS's browser installer has an "All of them" choice?

    --
    Those who do study history are doomed to stand helplessly by while everyone else repeats it.
  6. Re:Pointless by headbulb · · Score: 2, Interesting

    While I agree that Microsoft's IE is bloated and shouldn't show that dialog on start. I strongly disagree that somehow users that chose another browser like Chrome or safari will be confused. Those two alternative options are much easier for a user then the default IE.

  7. javascript randomness by crispi · · Score: 3, Interesting

    random my ass!

    only appears to be random if you have javascript working (thanks noscript!) - Otherwise IE8 appears first on the list, on the left.

  8. Re:More to come by Anpheus · · Score: 2, Interesting

    What I've found is that the communities are exactly as helpful as your question's accuracy. So educated people asking pointed, informed questions will find the community delightful and helpful. Newbies to Linux will find the complete opposite. Most communities will cater to the former just fine, far fewer for the latter.

    Just thought I'd add some of my own broad generalizations.