Microsoft agrees to give choice of browsers to Windows

HerrKaLeun said:

I'm sure MS makes the most money with the OS and Office, not the browsers.

that last one is also being taken care of:
quote:

Now an old case concerning complaints that Microsoft does not allow rival products to work with its Word and Excel suites has been revived in order to secure an outcome before EU competition commissioner, Neelie Kroes, leaves office.

C'mon guys -- its about time to put this thread to bed.

Why is it that people always seem to snipe at anything remotely successful these days -- don't we actually WANT products to be good and succeed - never mind as users just think of the amount of jobs created by hugely successful products.

Whatever you say about Windows it has passed the test of time and it really doesn't take a lot of skill for the average USER to be able to simply switch on and run their application.

Any man and his dog is not prevented from designing and selling an OS if they wanted to -- and actually in such areas as Drivers etc MS is quite helpful. Driver problems usually arise by the devloper trying to be "too clever by half" and bypass the recommended insertion points for their code or fail to write code conforming to the Windows standards.

Open Source is fine in some areas -- but if you are a business you need 100% certainty that your product will be maintained and useable for as long as you want to use it.

For Linux only people like red Hat and Novell can guarantee this and they do this for SERVERS rather than home desktops -- and in any case although a Linux user myself it really isn't a good alternative to Windows for most users.

As for proprietary information Apple IMO commits far more sins than MS does. Just try writing a driver for apple and see how much info you get back.

As for people who don't like MS Office -- (it's not free anyway although you can get it legally for a very small sum indeed by using facilities such as Home Use etc) Open Office is 100% free and works on both Linux and Windows.

I can't in any case understand the Browser fuss --they are all free and literally zillions of people have downloaded and use Firefox without a problem. Surely the EU and their stinking Lawyers have better tasks to do.

Cheers
jimbo

Night Hawk said:

Well I'm to see someone appreciated the debate skills both petrossa and myself were able to display there!

And without any fistfight! Just a stubborn Nighthawk (gnagna) and a wise old man.

jimbo45 said:

Surely the EU and their stinking Lawyers have better tasks to do.

Cheers
jimbo

I'm sure too, it's a pity they have to spend my taxes on getting anti-competitive companies to toe the line.

I'd rather that money was spend elsewhere, more constructive. But still i'm glad my consumer rights are protected.

I too would like to know how browsers get chosen for inclusion in the ballot. One way could be based on market share; but who decides were the cutoff point is? Say it is made top 3, that would leave Opera (the main proponent) out of it. Surely a good use of the middle finger.

Another way could be inclusion of a huge number. Literally hundreds of browsers, and put them in random order (with IE at the top of course). Also good use of the middle finger.

(Note I am not advocating that IE is better than the rest, I personally prefer Firefox 3.5, I just believe that this whole browser wars has gotten out of hand. I mean its not like MS is continually forcing the use of their own old standards. IE8 is much more standards compliant that previous versions. Hell even Firefox isn't standards compliant according to The Acid3 Test)

I think this entire argument is stupid and a waste of time. The people have always had their choice of browser and it's never been difficult to install a new one if you don't like Internet Explorer. Honestly, what is all the fuss about? People need Microsoft to hold their hand and say "which browser would you like me to install for you?"