From browser wars to browser choice

Mar 6, 2010 11:53 GMT  ·  By

Who would have ever thought that browser wars could ever spawn browser choice? At the start of March 2010, Microsoft began rolling out the Browser Choice screen via Windows Updates to all Windows users in Europe who have Internet Explorer set as their default browser. The update is automatically delivered to Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP users in the European Economic Area. However, Europeans that have selected a non-IE browser as the default will get no piece of the European Commission’s “choice pie,” as, obviously, they are saturated with choice.

Microsoft fought the European Commission, which started investigating the bundling of IE and Windows following an antitrust complaint filed by Opera Software, makers of the Opera Browser. The Redmond-based company attempted at a certain point in mid-2009 to hold its own against the EU antitrust regulators, threatening to strip Internet Explorer out of Windows altogether, and ship the Windows 7 E editions in the EEA, but quickly came around and it too chose “choice.” And it easy to see why.

Here’s a note from the EC: “The December 2009 commitment decision followed a Statement of Objections sent to Microsoft in January 2009 (see MEMO/09/15) outlining the Commission’s preliminary view that the company abused its dominant position in the market for client PC operating systems through the tying of Internet Explorer to Windows. The decision adopted pursuant to Article 9 of Regulation 1/2003 on the implementation of EU antitrust rules, did not conclude whether there was an abuse of a dominant position in the sense of Article 102 of the TFEU, but made the commitments legally binding on Microsoft. If Microsoft were to break its commitments, the Commission could impose a fine of up to 10% of Microsoft's total annual turnover without having to prove any violation of EU antitrust rules.”

“Under the decision's terms, Microsoft will report regularly to the Commission, on the implementation of the commitments and will make adjustments to the Choice Screen where necessary and proportionate upon the Commission's request. A clause in the commitments allows the Commission to review the commitments in two years under certain conditions.”

Now, obviously, this refers to Microsoft breaking its commitment regarding browser choice. Still, don’t believe for a minute that the EC hasn’t dangled the possibility of fresh billion dollar fines for the software giant if it failed to comply. There’s a fragment above, which requires a tad of emphasis, namely the part that states Microsoft could be slapped with a financial penalty of 10% of its total annual turnover. The best part is that the Commission doesn’t even have to prove any violation of EU antitrust rules. Since the now constantly eroding IE market share doesn’t really translate into billions in loss, Microsoft’s choice was simple.

Mozilla and Opera were quick to welcome the fact that the browser ballot screen has gone live, and that it will be served automatically to some 100 million users in Europe, according to the EC. And with Opera reporting that downloads of its browser have increased threefold since the release of the browser ballot, it’s easy to see why. Opera Software estimates that even more people in the EU will get the update.

"200 million Europeans now have a chance to find a new browser. We are convinced that people who try Opera will see that our product is better, because it is fast, powerful, easy to use and has the best security record in the industry," said Jon von Tetzchner, Co-founder, Opera.

“We’re pleased to support the European Commission and Microsoft in also recognizing how important choice is. In accordance with a landmark settlement, if you’re using a Windows PC in Europe and you’re still using the default Web browser, in the coming weeks and months you’ll see a Browser Choice screen appear. That screen will provide you the opportunity to make an active choice in the source of the software that acts on your behalf to broker your online experiences, and meet your own unique needs and interests,” noted Mitchell Baker, Mozilla Chair, and John Lilly, Mozilla CEO.

“We believe that the Browser Choice screen is an important milestone towards helping more people take control of their online lives — and we hope for the conversation to become broader and deeper,” the duo adds.

The EC itself applauded the start of the Browser Choice Screen roll-out, claiming that it delivers “an effective and unbiased choice between their default and competing web browsers.” Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia explained: "Web browsers are the gateway to the internet. Giving consumers the possibility to switch or try a browser other than that included in Windows will bring more competition and innovation in this important area to the benefit of European internet users. More competition between web browsers should also boost the use of open web standards which is critical for the further development of an open internet."

The joy of having choice shoved down your throat, whether you like it or not

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about choice. I have Internet Explorer 8, Firefox 3.6 and Firefox 3.7 Alpha, Google Chrome 5 and even Chromium, and Opera 10.50 installed on all four of the computers I use on a daily basis. In some particular scenarios, I also have the option to run Internet Explorer 6 and IE7. If this isn’t choice, then I don’t know what is! If you haven’t guessed so far, I am somewhat of a hobbyist web developer.

And you might not believe this, but I didn’t need the European Commission to tell me what’s best for me, and I didn’t need, or ask, for “choice” to be advertised on my desktop, while I sit back and have nothing to say about it, on the computers that I purchased and I own, on the operating systems that I licensed. What I definitely not need is for Safari to be pushed down my throat. I made my choices fully aware of my needs in terms of Internet browsing, and I’m running with Internet Explorer set as the default browser on all my Vista and Windows 7 machines, because I have experienced first-hand the advantages of User Account Control and Protect Mode.

There was a time when I also had Safari installed. That stopped when the Cupertino-based company kicked off a range of extremely dodgy practices to push the browser to users of its software. Safari was downloaded and installed automatically as an “update” to all users that updated Apple software such as QuickTime or iTunes. Customers had no say in the matter; they had not opted or wanted to download and deploy Safari, and there wasn’t an option for them not to install Apple’s browser. Yes, Apple knows a little about “choice” tactics. The company, faced with a backlash of criticism, modified the way it served Safari, but for me, that was the “never again” moment.

I wouldn’t want to be browser no. 13

There is a magical dozen of browsers that define choice for EEA customers in the EC’s perspective. The anti-Windows-IE monopoly 12 are: Avant Browser, Flock, Google Chrome, GreenBrowser, K-Meleon, Maxthon, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Safari, Sleipnir, Slim Browser, and Windows Internet Explorer. I’ll tell you what. I would really hate to be the company that builds the browser occupying the 13th position on the list considered by the European Commission. And not necessarily because of the superstitions inherently associated with the number in question.

Why do 12 browsers represent all the choices that EEA users get? Why not 13? Why not 50? But in the end, make sure not to miss the actual point. Choice is effectively limited to the first five browsers displayed by the ballot screen: IE8, Opera 10.50, Chrome 4, Firefox 3.6 and Safari 4. This because of the way the Choice Screen is built, users having to scroll right in order to discover the next seven browsers.

Some are “more equal” than others There’s no denying that Firefox’s growth and continuous erosion of IE’s dominance is based on merit. There’s no denying that Opera, Google and Mozilla all build great browsers and valid alternatives to Internet Explorer. There’s no denying that Microsoft itself has been hard at work improving Internet Explorer working to get it on par with rivals. And there’s even more choice beyond the first five browsers dominating the market.

The makers of AvantBrowser, Flock, K-Meleon, GreenBrowser, Maxthon, Sleipnir, and SlimBrowser have already complained to the EC because of the way their browsers are positioned on the ballot screen, arguing that the first five items draw all the focus, while the remaining seven will get little attention from end users and fewer downloads.

The actual complaint involved the fact that they wouldn’t be able to artificially increase their market share by piggy-back riding on the Browser Choice screen update. But, furthermore, the petition points a finger at the EC’s “effective and unbiased choice” revealing that, in fact, some browsers are “more equal” than others.

Not everything that’s anti-Microsoft is synonymous with choice There are a few aspects incongruent with the very concept of choice when it comes down to the EC’s Browser Choice update. Problems have already started to emerge related to the seven browsers that are hidden on the Choice screen, the erroneous algorithm that was supposed to randomize the browser’s position, the fact that the update is delivered only to users that have IE set as the default browser.

I just want to get my last point across, so, I’m going to turn to a range of statistics involving browser popularity. Net Applications credits IE with a market share of 61.58%, Firefox 24.23%, Chrome 5.61%, Safari 4.45% and Opera 2.35%. AT Internet, an Internet metrics company that monitors browser market share for Europe, reveals that IE is down to 58.6%, Firefox to 29.4%, Safari at 5.1%, Chrome at 4.1%, and Opera at 2.3%. GemiusRanking indicates that Firefox 3.x accounts for a market share of 50.85%, IE7 of 13.44%, 10.9% for IE8, 7.75% for Opera 10.x, 6.41% for IE6, 4.91% for Chrome in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Russia and Ukraine.

At the end of December 2009, users were able to read “2009 Browser Market Shares Based on Softpedia Web Traffic Stats.” 44.45% of Softpedia visitors use Internet Explorer, 38.75% run Firefox, 4.66% Chrome, 4.43% Safari and 4.21% Opera.

Despite the fact that the EC found the IE-Windows bundle violating European antitrust law, the fact that users with IE as default get the Browser Choice update, while the rest of sometime over 50% of customers don’t doesn’t actually promote choice. Let me make this perfectly clear, not all Firefox, or Opera, or Chrome users are running the browser because they choose to. The vast majority of average Windows users are incapable of installing a program themselves, and so they turn to friends with a little more IT knowledge. In this regard, they rely on the commendations of others for the browser they are running, making no actual choice themselves. I truly doubt that the Browser Choice screen will change this.

I think I need to explain with an example. Recently, a non-techie cousin visiting me asked if she could check her email on one of the computers I wasn’t using at the time, and she quickly found herself in front of a machine with Opera, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox icons on the desktop. She didn’t hesitate to double click on Google Chrome, but then she quickly stopped, and asked what was the program which just launched on the screen.

You see, Google is her default start page, and has probably been as long as she can remember. When she clicked on Google Chrome, she was actually trying to get to Google, which for many represents the gateway to the Internet through the search engine. However, I have configured all browsers to display a blank page at start, so all she got was a new program, completely unfamiliar.

I asked her what browser she uses at home, and she replied that she had no idea, explaining that a friend installed all the programs on the two machines in her household. Turns out that at home, she and her husband are using Firefox as the default browser. Turns out they always turn to their friend for PC maintenance, and never felt the need to learn how to perform even the most basic tasks themselves.

Choice

There’s a small technique documented by Microsoft designed to give Windows customers with IE as the default a way to dodge the Browser Choice update. It applies to all supported copies of XP, Vista and Windows 7, and allows users to block the delivery of the ballot screen altogether. According to Microsoft, the technique is designed for system administrators responsible for managed environments under a Volume Licensing program. But of course, the small registry modification can be applied by all users.

“The following information is provided to help system administrators manage the display of the Browser Choice update screen in managed personal computing environments that are under a Volume Licensing program.

Registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\BrowserChoice Value name: Enable Value type: DWORD

Possible values: 1 - Display the Browser Choice update (default) 0 - Do not display the Browser Choice update.”

Choice is a critical aspect of life. But never the kind of choice that others choose is best for you.

Here is a choice of browsers:

Avant Browser 11.7 Build 46 is available for download here.

Flock 2.5.6 is available for download here.   GreenBrowser 5.3.0203 is available for download here.

K-Meleon 1.5.3 is available for download here.

Maxthon is available for download here.

Sleipnir 2.9.3 is available for download here.

SlimBrowser 4.12 is available for download here.

Safari 4 is available for download here.

Firefox 3.6 Final for Windows is available for download here.

Google Chrome 4.0 Stable is available for download here.

Opera 10.50 is available for download here.

Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) RTW is available for download here (for 32-bit and 64-bit flavors of Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008).

Photo Gallery (4 Images)

The five main browsers in the ballot screen update from Microsoft
The five main browsers in the ballot screen update from MicrosoftThe ballot screen update from Microsoft
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