08.20.09
Mozilla Complains About Microsoft’s Continued Discrimination Against Rival Web Browsers
“I don’t understand how IE is going to win. The current path is simply to copy everything that Netscape does packaging and product wise.”
–Jim Allchin, President of Platforms & Services Division at Microsoft
Summary: Microsoft’s abuses still lack reactionary regulation
THE EUROPEAN Commission is not over with Microsoft, but after repeated manipulation by lawyers and lobbyists Microsoft is hoping to get away without being punished. Opera and Mozilla have already complained that Microsoft was escaping punishment for what was an attempt at corrective action after convictions (for felonies). And needless to say, Microsoft has spinners who tell a deceiving story.
The latest reports suggest that Mozilla sees Microsoft as slinking away.
As a settlement looms in Microsoft’s tête-à-tête with the European Commission (EC) over bundling Internet Explorer (IE) with Windows, one of the software giant’s arch rivals has weighed in with a calculated blogging campaign.
To use the arguments from Mozilla:
Meanwhile, Anderson said he was blogging to call out “deficiencies” in Microsoft’s proposal.
“When IE is not the default, any launch of IE, user intended/initiated or not, may prompt the user to restore IE as his default browser,” Anderson said in a Tuesday blog post. He also said that Microsoft should not be allowed to fire up IE from within an application — even Microsoft apps like the Office suite — whenever a browser function is needed.
“If Microsoft applications need to launch a browser, they should only launch the user’s default browser,” Anderson added.
There will be a lot of spin and maybe even lobbying from Microsoft’s side, so things are not likely to change.
The Commission is also busy looking into Apple's exploding gadgets.
The European Commission appears to have been taken in by the media hoopla over exploding iPhones, and has asked Apple to explain what’s going on.
Speaking of iPhone, the already-struggling Windows Mobile reportedly falls deeper into a chasm.
According to the latest figures from Canalys, Microsoft is losing share in the smartphone market as the number of platforms proliferates and it now commands less than 10 percent.
Some more news items about Web browsers are appended below. █
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[1] 10 Firefox Add-Ons Small Businesses Can’t Do Without
By now, you’ve probably discovered how delightful the Firefox Web browser is to use while surfing or working on the Internet. One of its best features is that it’s easily customizable by using add-ons to add extra functionality. Here are 10 favorites that make getting things done a little easier, more efficient, and fun.
[2] Major update, Fennec, Test Pilot, Bespin, Service Week, MozCamp, Web L10n, Camino, and more…
In this issue…
* Major update coming to Firefox 3
* Mozilla VP on Firefox Mobile
* Become a Mozilla Test Pilot!
* Bespin 0.4 released
[3] Chrome gets bookmark sync with version 4.x
[4] Hands on: bookmark sync lands in Chrome developer builds
Google’s Chrome Web browser has gained experimental support for bookmark synchronization. Users can sync their Chrome bookmarks between computers and access them in any browser through Google Docs.
[5] Surfing Since 1991: The Evolution of Web Browsers
Firefox has found more than a niche market by giving users near endless customization, and Apple’s Safari purports to run circles around everyone else (it doesn’t). And then there’s the cornucopia of alternative browsers and browser shells, like Flock (Firefox-based) and Avant (IE-based).
