Comments on: Why Europe Won’t Go Browserless This Fall

By: No Internet Explorer 8 In Europe??? « World of Cush-A Discovery Blog

No Internet Explorer 8 In Europe??? « World of Cush-A Discovery Blog — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:05:10 +0000

[...] be sure that for nearly all of computers they sell, they’re going to do just that. Read more http://www.tech...less-this-fall/ leave a comment « Photo: Cappuccino 14 year old boy smote by meteroite [...]

By: Did The EU Actually Lose The Browser Battle? ~ Web Developers

Did The EU Actually Lose The Browser Battle? ~ Web Developers — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:15:37 +0000

[...] of frustrated users wondering how they are to surf the net? Does sound this way at first, until you dig a big deeper to discover that despite the EU’s chest pounding, browsers will be installed by default by the OEMs [...]

By: Nivco

Nivco — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:36:19 +0000

ahah +1

Plese put me and my country on the punish list!

By: Nivco

Nivco — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:25:25 +0000

Come one there, everyone with a tiny experience of web development knows that MSFT has been holding the web back by their lack of innovation, and lack of implementing open standards etc… into IE. It’s not like if they were providing a good product (like Safari: fast & respect standards). The product is just so bad and most people end up using it just because it’s there… I guess what’s happening is called karma

I just hope that MSFT will now start to do some real improvement on IE.

By: Nivco

Nivco — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:02:27 +0000

mhhh MS has already been convicted twice for Monopolist behavior..

By: Nivco

Nivco — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:50:03 +0000

I WISH they would not sell Win7 here!

But common man… that was a joke right? you can’t be THAT stupid?

By: iPhone 3.0 | Twitpocalypse | Facebook | Internet Explorer - Week in Review #4 | yesterdayshero

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:54:22 +0000

[...] Internet Explorer Windows 7 is to be released later this year, but in Europe, it won’t include Internet Explorer built in due to competition rules. After finally releasing a half decent web browser in IE8, Windows won’t be able to force it onto consumers as they would normally. Maybe it would have finally got rid of the remnants of IE6. > No IE onboard Windows 7 in Europe > Why Europe Won’t Go Browserless This Fall [...]

By: CaffiNation 341 is running on Coffee and Beer | The CaffiNation Podcast

CaffiNation 341 is running on Coffee and Beer | The CaffiNation Podcast — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 05:14:02 +0000

[...] Microsoft offers to ditch browers in the EU [...]

By: Alex

Alex — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:36:36 +0000

The problem is, your average user doesn’t know how to get a web browser on their computer without downloading it over the web. It’s a “chicken and the egg” problem.

By: ajay

ajay — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:16:32 +0000

not working for me dude

By: Miriam Torbeck

Miriam Torbeck — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:12:15 +0000

That’s not the point – it was never possible to uninstall IE – on MS-machines you simply can’t get rid of it. And solely this is the punished distortion of competition in EU. You can’t get rid of Internet Explorer on windows – but you could always uninstall safari on a mac.

By: ayme

ayme — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:05:28 +0000

much ado about nothing, ie will be overtaken soon by firefox, if peiople want a different browser they will download anyway, so i dont see the problem

By: Toni Anicic

Toni Anicic — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 15:18:14 +0000

Should CrunchPad come without browser?

By: K

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 15:00:58 +0000

Use of the word “Clearly” fail. lol

By: K

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 14:55:52 +0000

Apple does not have the market share …

By: Soneide

Soneide — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 14:28:49 +0000

There are different rules for companies, I understand it.

By: John Smith

John Smith — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 13:21:48 +0000

This is great news, I hope the EC spanks em hard!

Next, Apple should be broken up in to separate hardware and software companies so there is more choice.

By: Nicholas Orr

Nicholas Orr — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 07:44:13 +0000

I’m guessing people will also be able to get IE8 from windows update. If people click “use recommended” then MS will just need to put it on the recommended list and shazam! IE8 on the desktop

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 03:41:26 +0000

First off a monopoly isn’t always a bad thing. Without a monopoly (whether it was MS, or Apple, Commodore, or whoever) the PC never would have taken off. Its much like the linux situation today. There are few standards between distros thus most companies ignore linux for programs.

Second, MS is losing market share in their main core competency, the desktop (they are holding steady or growing in their other 2 – office and server, respectively). They are rapidly dropping market share for IE. Obviously people are seeing they [MS] aren’t a monopoly anymore and that they have a choice.

Third (and last), if MS is forced to unbundle IE from windows then Apple should be forced to unbundle itunes from the ipod ecosystem. Apple is using the ipods market share to force users to use itunes at the expense of WMP or any other media management software. And for the record apple has a monopoly on the PMP with a 70-80% market share (the latest numbers I can find show 70% in 2007. with the introduction of the iphone that number has surely climbed). But apple isn’t “evil” right making them ok?

By: FP

FP — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 20:47:40 +0000

“Would be happier if MS just said ‘fine, we’re not selling Win7 in EU. period”. That would teach the socialist pigs not to tell the free market what to do.”

get a brain and/or a life dude … sure liberalism and big fat monopolies get along well. Don’t skip economics next time. PERIOD

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 18:37:07 +0000

I think this whole antitrust case is nonsense for so many reasons.
– You can’t force a company distribute competitors’ software for free.
– By distributing competing browsers, Microsoft would be *significantly* increasing the attack surface for malicious software. Microsoft cannot be forced to intentionally reduce the security of their software.
– If presented with a “ballot screen”, most uninformed consumers would just randomly pick a web browser from the list. This decreases security as well as “fair competition”.
– Any browser company could sue Microsoft for unfairly excluding them from the “ballot screen”.
– This would imply that at some point Apple, Symbian, and Blackberry could all be forced to exclude browsers (and media players, calculators, and other apps) from their OS’s as well. (Which is of course nonsense.)
– There is a difference between “enabling market competition” and “forcing market diversity”. This latest regulatory move is clearly an effort towards the latter.
– An OS without a browser is a competitive disadvantage for the OS. This would adversely and artificially affect OS market share, and could theoreticaly encourage consumers to buy a differnt OS that already includes a built-in browser of their liking.

Personally, I would be happy if all the regulators involved in this case would be sacked immediately. And Microsoft should be able to counter-sue for intentional discrimination, badgering, defamation, and not to mention the high cost of dealing with this ongoing regulatory @#$!.

By: Offbeatmammal

Offbeatmammal — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 18:20:46 +0000

Have you ever had that experience without installing you base WinXP and surfing straight to some warez and porn site and clicking on every download and popup offered?

Perhaps my experience is unusual but I’ve yet to suffer this viral armageddon that apparently is Windows.

Sure, I make sure I’ve got the latest Windows Updates and I run an anti virus app (NOD32 for preference) and my machine is beind a router that hides my a little bit … but by your reasoning I should be a drooling zombie.

As I understand it a lot of the infection vectors these days are via the browsers…. and IE is coming out on top of FF these days.

The folks spreading FUD about viruses and botnets would be better served educating their friends and family who do use Windows that there are some basic precautions folks need to take … and while Linux and OSX are less targetted at the moment if they ever get to the point where there is a return on the investment for creatig an attack that community will suddenly get a wake up call

By: Offbeatmammal

Offbeatmammal — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 18:11:43 +0000

ROFL! No I don’t blame MSFT for this, I was trying to find a bright side for it

By: Alex

Alex — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 18:04:27 +0000

Interesting move- But if you think about it, not a first for Microsoft.

Isn’t this exactly what happened with the Microsoft Java VM? Lawsuits were flung their their way for including a product in the Windows distribution, so instead of paying fines, they just dropped the product. Of course, the Java VM was ended as a product entirely, whereas IE8 is just losing “bundled with” status- Also, the context of the Java VM scenario was a little different. However, the process is the same.

1) Microsoft Bundles product with windows.
2) Because it’s the bundled default, lots of people use it, unaware of options provided by competitors.
3) Someone sues them for it.
4) Microsoft flips suing party the bird by “making amends” and removing the product, citing legal compliance to all the confused/annoyed users and effectively redirecting their frustration at the suing party.

By: N74JW

N74JW — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 17:44:54 +0000

I am not usually in the Microsoft camp, but I would have to side with them on this issue. The EU antitrust suits are silly and getting a bit long in the tooth. Most folks don’t care about what browser they are using as long as they have one.

OEMs will place some kind of browser on their images even if IE8 is not it. I can’t see any sense behind selling a computer without any browser.

Maybe the OEM’s can just provide a step in the welcome wizard which allows the user to choose and download which ever browser they want?