Microsoft to Allow Users to Pick Browser
July 24, 2009 by Stephen Kersey
Filed under Business
The European Antitrust Commission has been pressuring Microsoft for years to allow users to pick their internet browser that they will use on their computer. On Friday, it appears as if the European Antitrust Commission has made some progress.
Said Brad Smith, a senior VP and general counsel for Microsoft: “Under our new proposal, among other things, European consumers who buy a new Windows PC with Internet Explorer set as their default browser would be shown a ‘ballot screen’ from which they could, if they wished, easily install competing browsers from the Web. If this proposal is ultimately accepted, Microsoft will ship Windows in Europe with the full functionality available in the rest of the world. As requested by the Commission, we will be publishing our proposal in full here on our website as soon as possible.”
It’ll be interesting to see if the European Antitrust Commission will accept Microsoft’s idea. It will also be interesting to see if this move would make more people switch over to Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome or other internet browser options.
For Microsoft, this move could help ward off millions of dollars in fines.
Is this good news for Firefox? (Image: Flickr)
