4 ms·
IE to lose Windows monopoly next week in Europe
- endtime 17y agoAnyone else find it a bit ridiculous that 45.5% is considered a "monopoly"? Anyway, as much as I disagree with Microsoft being required to do this, as an Opera user I only stand to gain from increased Opera marketshare. :)
- dan_sim 17y agoI think that the "monopoly" comes from the fact that IE is installed by default on any new Windows computer. Opera is the best browser ever... but I don't use it because it doesn't support Firebug. In fact, there's always a good reason to stick to Firefox as there is always a good reason for a non-techy person to stick to IE if it's installed by default.
- abrown28 17y agoAll the arguments that are used against IE can also be applied to Notepad, Outlook express, Calc and a 100 other pre-installed programs. I don't understand why IE is singled out as special.
- melling 17y agoHow about we want an open standards Internet and the 90% monopoly Microsoft has on the desktop really endangers that? After all, ms wouldn't give a crap about open standards unless pushed.
- abrown28 17y ago1) I assume that by using "We" you mean you and I and a few others because it's painfully clear to me that approximately 90% of the browser using world could care less. 2) Is using force the only way to accomplish the goal of open standards?
- melling 17y agoYou don't remember Bill Gates testifying in court that IE could not be unbundled from the OS? IE is still a choice. IE9 will be a much better product because of the changing browswer landscape. The progress of the Internet really has suffered because MS didn't put much effort into IE development. It is the worst browser and it has the most market share.
- AlisdairO 17y agoAgainst a company with a monopoly and a vested interested in closed standards that help maintain that monopoly? I'd say so, yes.
- abrown28 17y agoIf that company enforced their monopoly through force then I would agree with you.
- endtime 17y ago>How about we want an open standards Internet and the 90% monopoly Microsoft has on the desktop really endangers that? Why does 90% Windows market share endanger open web standards? Web standards are implemented by the browser, not the OS.
- melling 17y agoAs far as browsers go, how would you rate IE? Is it the best? Second best? Probably third or fourth? It has over 60% market share in the world. 18 months ago, it was over 70%. I would argue that this has more to do with Microsoft having 90% desktop market share and IE is the default browswer.
- endtime 17y agoSure, but that's completely irrelevant. You're not making a coherent point. Microsoft doesn't have a browser monopoly. Period.
- sumeetjain 17y agoThis is an interesting question. I'm not sure what the legal or business reasoning is; but from my personal perspective, Internet browsers are fundamentally different from most other products. I believe a person's ability to access information is more sacred than her ability to perform word processing. I liken the question to why I support universal free education but not universal free binders.
- fnid2 17y agoDragonfly is decent if you need a debugger on Opera. They also just made it open source, so we'll see if that kind of a decision improves products in the market.
- dan_sim 17y agothanks, Opera is now reinstalled and I'll try DragonFly...
- melling 17y agoThey have a 90% desktop monopoly, and have had one for almost two decades. The Internet, mobile devices and the browser will finally fix this problem. Competition is good for consumers and the Europeans are making an effort to increase it. Imagine if General Motors sold 90% of all cars. Good for consumers or bad?
- rbanffy 17y agoThe monopoly is not IE. It's Windows. It's not wrong to have a monopoly. What's wrong is to use (or abuse) one (Windows) to gain an unfair advantage in other segment (browsers) by making your secondary product an integral part of the monopoly product.
- DeusExMachina 17y agoI think that this will also be good to make users aware of what a browser is, since a lot of people just think of IE as "the internet".
- MindTwister 17y agoAm I the only one that finds the title very misleading? This is about the browser choice when installing Windows, not a windows monopoly.
- freebsd_dude 17y agosimple solution: just force MS to install Chrome Frame by default in IE. This may not increase awareness of other browsers, but it does make developers life easier.
- ZeroGravitas 17y agoIs this going to have any impact on IE6 share? Or would anyone who gets this ballot have already been auto-updated to IE7 or 8?
- wmf 17y agoThe ballot screen is for XP, Vista, and 7, but I have to imagine that people stuck on IE6 are either using locked-down corporate machines or simply people who don't install updates; in either case they probably won't even see the ballot screen.
- malkia 17y agoHow would the Windows Update work?