Mozilla boss votes against browser ballot

Mozilla says Microsoft's ballot still not enough to level the browser playing field
Mozilla says Microsoft's ballot still not enough to level the browser playing field

Mozilla Foundation Chair Mitchell Baker has slammed Microsoft's suggestion of a browser ballot to give users a choice of internet browsers on Windows PCs.

In a blog posting, he says that Internet Explorer will still have a "unique and uniquely privileged position on Windows installations."

The browser ballot is Microsoft's latest proposal to settle its long-running anti-competition dispute with the European Commission.

Vote now for your chosen browser!

Under the proposal, users of XP, Vista and Windows 7 operating systems would be presented with an election-style ballot allowing them to "easily install" competing browsers from the web. This would allow Microsoft to ship Windows 7 in Europe with the same functionality as in the rest of the world.

However, says Baker, the current proposal is tilted in Microsoft's favour. "Choosing another browser as a "default" does not mean that the other browser takes the place of IE. It is always there, often with prominent placement in the user interface," he says. "For example, the IE logo still remains unchanged on the desktop and in the Taskbar of Windows 7, which contains IE prominently."

Baker also suggests that downloading and installing a new browser is not straightforward for many novice users: "We expect to see many people who want other browsers get lost in the process before they actually succeed in making an alternative browser their main browsing tool."

He notes that IE retains a role in the Windows Update process and that Microsoft's proposal allows for other Microsoft products (except Office 2007) to retain hard-coded links to the IE browser. He sums up by saying, "The importance of the myriad of details makes it very difficult to predict how effective the proposed remedies will be, or the extent of any side-effects."

The European Commission is currently reviewing the proposal.

Latest in Internet
The logo of the social media app Bluesky is seen on the screen of a mobile phone
Bluesky gets a massive video upgrade to tempt X fans who are frustrated by its cyberattack outages
Quordle on a smartphone held in a hand
Quordle hints and answers for Thursday, March 13 (game #1144)
NYT Strands homescreen on a mobile phone screen, on a light blue background
NYT Strands hints and answers for Thursday, March 13 (game #375)
Quordle on a smartphone held in a hand
Quordle hints and answers for Wednesday, March 12 (game #1143)
NYT Strands homescreen on a mobile phone screen, on a light blue background
NYT Strands hints and answers for Wednesday, March 12 (game #374)
Twitter social media application change logo to X. Elon Musk CEO of twitter rebranded Twitter to 'X'. Social media application technology concept.
X is back – here's what we know about the 'massive cyberattack' that caused Twitter to go down multiple times
Latest in News
GTA 5
GTA Online publisher Take-Two is gunning for a black market that’s basically heaven for cheaters
The Discovery+ homepage
Discovery+ just got a big update to its streaming app that makes it more like Max – here are 5 great new features to try
Two Android phones on a green and blue background showing Google Messages
Struggling with slow Google Messages photo transfers? Google says new update will make 'noticeable difference'
China
Chinese hackers targeting Juniper Networks routers, so patch now
Google Meet create custom backgrounds
More AI features are coming to Google Workspace
Elayne, Egwene, and Nynaeve dressed regally and on horseback in The Wheel of Time season 3
'There's a reason why we do it': The Wheel of Time showrunner responds to fans who are still upset over the Prime Video show's plot alterations