ECIS, a lobbyist group with quite a few Microsoft adversaries as members, is calling on regulators worldwide to comply with the European Commission (EC) in requiring Microsoft to supply a browser ballot that calls out non-Internet-Explorer alternatives accessible to Computer consumers.Beginning March one, Microsoft started pushing out to European Union customers an EC-stipulated browser ballot, which can make it plain to customers that despite the fact that World-wide-web Explorer (IE) arrives preloaded on Windows PCs, one can find other browsers accessible. Microsoft agreed to give the browser ballot to EU buyers operating IE as their default browser on XP,
Microsoft Office 2010 Professional, Vista and Windows 7 as component of a settlement cope with the EC in an antitrust situation brought against Microsoft by browser maker Opera Software program.The European Committee for Interoperable Methods (ECIS) — whose members include Opera, Adobe, Corel, IBM, Nokia, Oracle, RealNetworks and Red Hat — is pushing for regulatory agencies in other countries to require Microsoft to deliver the browser ballot to customers outside of the EC.“Microsoft agreed to change its business practices in the face of formal charges from the Commission. Buyers deserve the same unbiased browser choice on all the world’s more than one billion personal computers,” said the ECIS in a March 2 press release.Given that Opera is one particular of ECIS; members, it;s not too surprising that ECIS is making several of the same arguments Opera did when it lodged its browser-bundling complaint towards Microsoft at the finish of 2007. More from the ECIS press release:“Microsoft has bundled its own Net Explorer Net browser with Windows and most users accept it instead of trolling the Web for options. Because Windows runs on 90 percent of the world’s computers,
Office Professional 2007, that bundling has slowed innovation in browsers. During the first years of this century, it ground almost to a halt when there was little competition.“World wide web Explorer, which runs only on Windows,
Office 2010, sometimes uses special laptop coding. Web pages created to those special standards will not run properly on other Internet browsers, making it necessary to use a Microsoft system to read them.”As I;ve said before,
Microsoft Office 2007, I think the browser ballot is a good thing. While IT professionals and power end users know you'll find choices other than IE available and know how to get alternative browsers,
Office 2010 Product Key, lots of non-tech-savvy Computer people do not.That said, to me, it would be a waste of time and money for other regulatory bodies to have to hear cases brought by Microsoft;s competitors in order for the ballot screen to become a worldwide offering. Unfortunately, I don;t see Microsoft proactively offering the browser ballot to users worldwide — especially not while its total browser market place share continues to slide…Do you see any upsides (or downsides) to the Softies offering the ballot screen to customers worldwide? I;ve heard from a couple of EU prospects that they think Microsoft has structured the ballot poorly, making it difficult for end users who do basically want IE to get it. Anyone else having that same experience?
