Opera's chief executive Jon von Tetzchner believes that Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 could prove to be 'a dangerous thing for the internet.'
With the release of IE8 looming, and the European Commission looking at Opera's complaint over Microsoft's bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows, it is certainly a key moment in the ongoing browser wars.
In an interview with The Register, von Tetzchner has indicated his fear that Microsoft's renewed development in the browser market could blow the opposition out of the water.
Unique position
"Microsoft has a unique position - the fact is, as soon as they have a browser out there they get massive volumes, people are going to code for them," he said.
"It's only a mater of time. It's a lot more difficult for the competition"
"The risk we are seeing is Microsoft is back and now working on the browser and the fact they didn't work on the browser gave room for the competition...if Microsoft provides a better product you might see a reversal of the trend - it's a dangerous thing for the internet."
Microsoft has seen a key decline in its browser market share recently, with open source rival Firefox from Mozilla gaining significant ground, and the arrival of the internet's 300 pound gorilla Google with its Chrome offering ramping up the pressure.
Plus, with Apple also pushing for a greater PC share for Safari – and bragging about the speed in its Safari 4 Beta – Opera's fears that Microsoft will become more dominant are debatable.
Via The Register
