14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft's proposal for a “ballot screen” that should be included on its operating systems sold within the European Union hasn't been received as well as expected, it seems. According to the Wall Street Journal, the proposal sees a lot of criticism from different parties, while the European Committee for Interoperable Systems (ECIS) has argued that users would be confused by the ballot screen concept.
Back in January 2009, the European Commission filed charges against Microsoft stating that the presence of Internet Explorer (IE) on Windows was violating antitrust regulations, and that the Redmond-based company should do something in this regard. What Microsoft proposed at that moment was to deliver its next client into the European Union without the web browser, and thus the Windows 7 E appeared.
This proposal has not appealed to the Commission, and Microsoft came up with the ballot screen concept that should be included with the operating system, and which was supposed to offer users the possibility to choose from a range of competitive browsers. However, the ballot screen was to come to Windows if the IE was set as the default browser on the OS.
According to the ballot screen proposal, users would be offered the possibility to download Mozilla's Firefox, Apple's Safari, Google's Chrome, and Opera's Opera solutions, with other browsers being added to the list as they emerge to the market and based on their performance. According to WSJ, ECIS now says that EU Windows users will be confused by the ballot browser.
Thomas Vinje, an attorney and spokesman for the ECIS, said that the process of choosing another web browser would require “the user to confirm and answer threatening and confusing warnings and questions,” WSJ reports. Vinje also stated that “Microsoft has cunningly found a way to accept the commission's suggestion of a ballot screen, but to do so in a way that will be entirely ineffective.”
Windows 7 is set to become available for purchase starting with October 22, and users are supposed to receive an update with the ballot screen either starting with that date or two weeks after the commission rules. However, given the new issues that have been brought to the table by ECIS, the deal might get delayed. Windows XP and Vista users should receive the update three to six months after the plan is approved.