OP: Why Microsoft is Innocent with IE8

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This is exactly why I am getting the hell out of europe! This is by far the most numbskull sollution. I mean seriously, I live in sweden and this is about all we ever see of being a member of the european union. One stupid ass ruling after another.

I mean what the hell am I supposed to do, we've basicly got an OS that in technologically on par with Windows95 in terms of communication. So now I'm gonna have to use a commandline to interface to download chrome for my windows7 rigs or perhaps run my laptop on Linux just to get my main rig working properly.
 
"...What occurred was that Microsoft came up with a better and more convenient solution for end users. Period...."

Microsoft plays dirty - always have, always will. Their dirty tricks should not allow them to be praised with coming up with "better and more convenient solutions". They don't innovate or create. They rip off others and imitate just like the cheap ripoffs they are.

Besides - The typical computer users think that the monitor is the PC, the PC is the harddisk, and that Word is Windows. Seriously. IE and other browsers are just "The Internet" to them - so they are not even close to telling the difference between browsers.

Removing IE completely is of course stupid - and hardly what the EU has asked for. Removing it is Microsofts way of making the EU appear as "OS cripplers" - and how can you download competing browsers without a browser to begin with.

There are only two good alternatives: Never mind or force Microsoft to give the user a choice of browser at install time. If Microsoft and no one else is forced to do this, it might appear unfair.

The problem for Microsoft is that since it has behaved like a Jackass in a porcelain store since the very beginning, it should not be surprised when its surroundings grow tired and desides to bite back.
 
OS's should be infrastructure on which applications can be run and maintained.

Internet Explore is a full featured web browsing application. If it was something like wordpad is to Word then there wouldn't be a problem.

The main problem is that until recently IE hasn't aspired to be highly standards compliance and this causes users to be locked into it especially when used with other Microsoft products.
 
Most comments (and the article) missed the point.

Opera's complaint was that Microsoft had an unfair advantage with browsers, as it bundled IE with Windows (which IS a monopoly), ensuring that all computers that shipped with Windows had it - and couldn't remove it.

William Gates III argued to the Congress that IE couldn't be removed from Windows without compromising the OS' integrity (he obviously had his fingers crossed behind his back when he said that). Thus, IE6 from 2001 to 2014 (the most loathed, buggy, underdeveloped browser in computer history, managing to beat even Netscape 4).

Shipping other browsers with Win7 wasn't possible, from a license point of view: several include GPL code, which forbid shipping with non-GPL code. Moreover, there is the OEM support, that would require either Microsoft or its OEMs to support the software. But, a ballot screen is nothing more than a dumb piece of script that can download an XML file from a Web location, said XML file contains a description and a download location for a list of browsers - like IE 7 does to offer you several search engines for your search box.

If Win7 shipped with this type of script, support would be exceedingly simple: an OEM would 'merely' have to support said XML file somewhere on their server. The actual browsers, being third-party tools, wouldn't have to be supported.

You have to understand one thing: in the EU, other browsers like Firefox have more than the 20% market share US tools report; it stands between 25 and 45% depending on countries. So, OEMs find themselves 'forced' to know about it and support it with their tools, their tech support often recommend you install at least Firefox, for example. However, since IE is still installed, security breaches and all, it still gives everybody headaches - IE and non-IE users alike.

The EC asked Microsoft to stop bundling IE with Windows; Microsoft complied somewhat with Win7's beta 2 (IE is neutralized, not removed). So as not to penalize users, the EC then asked Microsoft to add a simple ballot screen allowing the user to install his or her browser of choice. Microsoft refused point blank and completely removed IE's GUI (the html and jscript engines are still there).

Now, what could that mean? Well OEMs may either install IE or any other browser instead - or add a ballot screen of their own. Or (banish the thought) install their own branded IE version.

Wait. They are already doing that.

The Mac OS X/Linux controversy: OS X ships with Safari. No uninstall option is given for it. Apple could thus face the same problem MS did - if they ever attain monopoly status. They didn't, so they can't be accused of making use of monopolistic position to gain an unfair advantage. Linux is even easier: not only you can't accuse desktop Linux of being a monopoly, but you ALREADY can remove the browser and replace it. Debian (at least) ships without Firefox but Iceweasel instead.
 
How many people would complain if Linux was forced to offer the top three browsers on it's operating system, including Internet Explorer?

Don't get me wrong, I like Linux and I use firefox but for people complaining that Windows should be forced to offer the top 3 competitor browsers... well Linux should be forced to as well. And yes, use IEs 4 Linux or something else to get IE running.

I'm sure if this happened the first linux distribution would be avoided not because of the choice but because of the initial hate for microsoft.
 
So, what next? Shall we sue M$ for including Windows Media Player as the default player?
Or how about those beautiful wallpapers, or for that matter, themes?
At a point where web and web based apps are pretty much the center of most of your desktop activity, it is absolutely absurd to ask OS developers to remove the browser from your regular install.
 
Don't worry it will ship with web browsers. The reason the EU wants MS not to bundle is so that any browser can be bundled with the OS, not just the MS browser.. Most OEMs will ship their systems with browsers(which THEY now can decide for themselves instead of being forced to use IE). And in windows you can download IE through windows update if you like to install from scratch. No big deal really, relax and be happy :)
 
Thing is that EU did NOT ask MS to remove its browser but that users have multiple choices and that IE shound not be the ONLY browser. It is MS that played this move since it was hurt by EU deceision. Most comps are going to be distributed thru brands like HP, Dell, Asus... And they all come with install disks. So, solution is simple: browsers will come with comps either preinstalled or user shoud install them. It non-savvy users it is not a problem because how often they reinstall comp? Comp savvy users are already have their ways to do it anyway. So no problem at all althou MS is playing victim and is trying to comply to EUs decision by playing dirty on users....
 
If windows 7 does not ship with browser, will oem ship PC/laptop with other Operating system with browser (ubuntu with firefox)?....because users don't want a PC without web browser. Then I bet Microsoft will change their stand and starts shipping windows 7 with a splash screen during installation that allows users to choose which browsers to install....as intended by EU.

Microsoft is playing this game with EU because they know they can, with the monopoly they are holding.
 
next it will be microsoft paint, windows explorer, notepad till eventually microsoft will have to include linux as an alternative!

A friggin car from ferrari comes with ferrari parts - you dont get a choice in the matter and if you wish you can fit third party-parts but will void any warranty (to stop you from doing it) - why not sue everyone for that kind of thing?

A microsoft OS should come by DEFAULT with a MICROSOFT part, in which microsoft has every right to include its own pre bundled software aslong as it doesnt block any third-party replacement apps which it DOES NOT.

The EU should suck a fat one and get over its self, this is total BS - this is the end of the free world as we know it.
 
I like this article. It doesn't state anything we didn't already know, but it's nice to see I'm not the only one using my head for more than watching tv.

Guess shipping motherboards without lan adapter is the next thing - so the user is not forced to buy an adapter from a company they didn't want. And when they want to go online to buy one, they find they can't :)
 
Here are my thoughts, by this logic (from the EU that is), every Intel motherboard should ship with both and ATI and Nvidia graphics card, because after all, Intel has the largest market share by large in graphics and this is not fair to the consumer.

THAT is how ridiculous what the EU is doing, that is a 100% comparison to this situation.

Doesn't the EU have anything important to do with their time and money?! For once I am thinking, thank god I live in America (without being embarrassed to say it).
 
I think the clock application in windows is unfair competition against watch makers. I want it removed from Windows 7 please.
 
There is no problem shipping IE in Windows. The big problem is when a lot of stupid "web designers" make use of Microsoft´s pseudo (proprietary) standards, developing sites that only work in IE. That is the problem, as Microsoft always wants to take advantage of its operational system monopoly to create more and more monopolies.
 
Being that Linux is a free OS I don't really think they can ever be forced to change anything. It's a free OS with free software so if you try it and don't like it you lost nothing but time.
 
Why should I be forced to pay for a browser (IE) that I don't plan to use or even want when I buy the only viable operating system?

Because that is what Microsoft is doing to you to do when they bundle IE to Windows. Do any of you think that Microsoft is including IE in Windows for free and of there goodness of there heart. No they are sellign IE to you together with Windows and this makes it near impossible to sell you another browser since you already payed for one. It is because of this EU is bashing Microsoft.
 
I think the EU is doing something really stupid.

Who is going to lose with all this? Low-end users.

Whoever has a good level of pc knoledge already knows how to download another browser and be happy with it, the only thing that is going to chenge is the possibility to completely unistall IE8 (that's just great!).

Now, the low-end users are going to be completelly lost without a initial browers or even with a new one that don't have a user interface exactly like IE.
What do you think those ppl are going to do? Have to pay more for the store support for someone go to their place and instal the damn IE.


That is: EU is only making the life of 95% of user a little bit harder, thank EU!
 
I dont like my water company because they only supply water and i think that a monopoly - i was delicious mountain dew on tap!

If everyone had a choice with the EU i think everyone would want the EU removed from europe - its the same arguments as removing MICROSOFT internet explorer from MICROSOFT windows.

I also think microsoft should pay the EU in monopoly money to show how serious they are, and how stupid the EU really is.
 
and if you like monopolies, now companies will charge (illegally or not) people to install internet explorer for the customer making microsoft posibly more money (or its resellers) - i know i could make alot of money doing this if the EU wins.
 
Of course all OS's should be required to only be that, an OS. No peripheral/add-on files of any kind. Everyone should have to determine what they want and how to get it. Load OS; command prompt after determining communications protocol; submit to open service; command line to server requesting file using FTP (assuming file name is known or knowable); download and expand; ready to go. Sure, everyone on the EU Board of Running Everyone's Life/Grabbing Bucks for Socialism knows how to write code and assumes everyone else does too. That's why they are going to require all autos come without engines; that should be the consumers' choice too, choose/install your own.
 
What's interesting is that this is actually very good news for Microsoft. Think about it: Microsoft is not legally allowed to include IE bundled for free with Windows, but they can now sell IE side-by-side with Windows so that people will be able to use the internet and switch off to a 'free' browser later. The EU has essentially mandated that the people there must purchase a license for Windows, and purchase a copy of IE if they intend to get online.

This is a WIN for Microsoft in many ways, notably that it can and must legally sell IE that before now was just being given away.
 
How can I even get Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, or whatever else I wanted without getting to each browser's respective website to begin with?
Click to expand...
Thats not such a big deal, any idiot that knows how to load an OS likely has a flash drive or CD with all their regular programs (like FF, ready to install on the fresh PC. Back in the old days, before IE was around we kept floppies with Netscape on hand.
IE was the arm-pit of browsers, and Netscape was king. What happened there? What occurred was that Microsoft came up with a better and more convenient solution for end users
Click to expand...
IE is not better, in fact, their usage of ActiveX and other proprietary technologies(silverlight also...) holds back web developement because they don't make a plugin (or delay availability of a plugin) for other browsers. What happened to Netscape is that they didn't have the ability to ship their browser with an OS (short of paying royalties I expect) MS cheated, killed Netscape, and has held back and retarded development for over a decade.
Tuan: I know this is an opinion piece, but if you have a problem installing a browser from external media then you shouldn't be writing for Tom's
 
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