Posted 09/28/09 at 08:52:07 PM by Pulkit Chandna

In July, the European Commission and Microsoft finally reached some common ground in their protracted dispute over the bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows, when Microsoft finally assented to the Commission’s favorite solution: a browser ballot. But the European Commission wants to make sure that the proposed browser ballot doesn’t eventually turn out be a well thought out artifice.

Soon after receiving Microsoft’s assent, the Commission secretly sent out a questionnaire about the proposed ballot screen to browser developers and PC makers. The Wall Street Journal has managed to get its hand on the results of that questionnaire.

The European Committee for Interoperable Systems, a non-profit association, which includes Norwegian browser maker Opera among its ranks, isn’t quite convinced by the idea of a ballot screen and the manner in which Microsoft has proposed to implement it. ECIS believes that the entire process of choosing a different browser contains “threatening and confusing warnings and questions.”

"Microsoft has cunningly found a way to accept the commission's suggestion of a ballot screen, but to do so in a way that will be entirely ineffective," ECIS's lawyer, Thomas Vinje, told the WSJ. Ironically, Microsoft plans to offer the ballot screen from within Internet Explorer. Though not opposed to the idea, Mozilla wants it to be modified.

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Posted 08/02/09 at 11:53:26 AM by Justin Kerr

Last week we reported on the new concessions Microsoft was proposing to the EU in the hopes of quelling its ongoing antitrust battles in Europe. The solution was a simple ballot screen pushed out as a “high priority” Windows Update, but what we didn’t know at the time is that it will also be sent out to computers running Windows XP and Vista as well.

The exact lineup of browsers hasn’t been finalized yet, but it is said to include 10 of “the most widely-used web browsers that run on Windows with a usage share of equal to or more than 0.5% in the European Economic Area”. Oddly enough, it’s still not even clear if Opera meets these requirements and given that they are the ones responsible for the antitrust woes facing Microsoft, would be bitter justice.

Opera officials overjoyed with the concessions, but never resting on their laurels, are said to now be pushing for an “icon-less ballot screen”. I suppose they are concerned that many users associate the “blue E” icon with “internet” and it still gives an unfair advantage to Microsoft. They are also said to be asking that this browser ballot be pushed out worldwide, but I somehow doubt Microsoft will take this approach. The browser ballot screen will include two links, one to the manufacturers website where they can learn more and an extra link directly to a download server.

Given the amazing amount of concessions being made by Microsoft, is Opera being unreasonable by asking for more?

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Posted 07/28/09 at 09:40:10 AM by Pulkit Chandna

Microsoft had to cough up $193 million in legal charges during its fiscal fourth quarter, the (depressing) results of which it announced on Friday. Now, it has forestalled the possibility of being slapped with another hefty fine. The Redmond-based software giant has bowed to EU’s demand that it let OEMs have the ability to bundle any other browser besides Internet Explorer with Windows.

"The European Commission can confirm that Microsoft has proposed a consumer ballot screen as a solution to the pending antitrust case,” EU revealed in a statement.

Microsoft had been hoping EU would allow it to ship Windows without a browser. EU had agreed to this solution when bundling of Windows Media Player was at issue, but the results proved that it was just a ruse. Had EU lent its seal of approval to Microsoft’s favorite solution, the company would have found it very easy to influence OEMs.

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