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Sozialdemokraten!

The future of Windows web browser integration?

Ok, so after being sued by Opera, Mozilla, and Google, Microsoft decided to sell Windows 7 without an integrated Internet Explorer to European retailers (who then can install any browser they want on your system). This spawned quick reactions from Opera and the EC stating that this would not be acceptable to solve their case, because they wanted MS to provide a choice of web browsers to all their customers.

Microsoft can definitely be criticized for this move, because it makes it extremely hard for anyone buying Windows directly to install a browser. There is simply no way of opening up a window and downloading Firefox if you'd like to. (I read, Win7 will have an onboard FTP client, though.) One can argue that most customers buy Windows along with a retail PC though, where the vendor would solve this problem for them.

However, Microsoft's competitors (and those stupid bureaucrats in Bruxelles) fail to realize that there are severe problems with their cries for including multiple browsers.

1. Who will provide technical support for installing the user's browser of choice? End-customers will always blame MS for Opera not installing correctly.
   
2. A normal user just does not care about installing another piece of software and customers usually also do not care about choice. They care about getting a working system without bothering too much.
3. Who decides on which browsers shall be provided along with Windows 7? You will never be able to collect a list of all available browsers and any decision on a set of browsers to ship with will outrule some others and spawn new debates. The monopoly will become an oligopoly.

And finally, after letting the EC force Microsoft to obey their pleas, when will Google and Opera sue Canonical for not installing their browsers in a Ubuntu Linux default system?

When I was a little boy ...

... 20 years ago, a young Chinese tried to stop the tanks on Tienanmen Square. Time to stop for a minute pondering about the question: What would I have done?.