Reports are surfacing online that Mozilla, amongst others, is complaining that the upcoming Windows 7 OS is anti-competitive - Hmm, haven’t we been here before?
In a statement to the Financial Times the Mozilla spokesperson and chairman Mitchell Baker had this to say "Our initial review suggests this is a blatant use of the Windows operating system to change the market dynamics of browser usage."
It seems that Opera had similar gripes with Windows 7 bundling IE8 into the new operating system in such a manner that it wasn’t easy to turn off - as had been the previous assertion from Microsoft.
As a tech enthusiast and someone who spends a lot of time online I spend a fair bit of time with my browser, which is Mozilla’s Firefox incidentally – but I’m failing to see how this is news – Microsoft has been bundling Internet Explorer with its operating system since the dinosaurs died out.
How this is any different to any other OS manufacturer bundling any type of software is beyond me; it’s included as an option, not a dictate to use that and only that, in fact, if they didn’t bundle any browser at all as standard then how would I get my hands on the trusty Firefox?
If the OS were to disable the use of any other browser then that’s a different story, but it doesn’t, I’ve happily been running Firefox and Chrome on the Windows 7 beta for months now.
Microsoft has already been the subject of anti-trust investigations over its software and is due to respond to the European Commission next month.
So my advice is this, if you don’t like IE8, download an alternative as there are plenty about to choose from, it seems even stranger that Mozilla are trying to make a case for this now just as its market browser share is on the up.
One way or another we’ll have a response from Microsoft next month.
Next up, VLC, Media Player Classic & Quicktime get their knickers in a twist about Windows Media Player being bundled in Windows 7…..
7 thoughts on “Mozilla Firefox throws its toys out of the pram over Windows 7”
I would like an OS bundled with my firefox download please.
It is so true and that’s why it is also funny… how would I download Firefox on my new windows installation if I don’t have any browser at all? LoL at that
This argument is ridiculous in this day and age. An OS needs an Internet browser and a media player built-in. Microsoft really needs to be left alone in this regard.
@Andy
“how would I download Firefox on my new windows installation if I don’t have any browser at all?”
There are any number of ways. To name a few:
A customer could select the browser of choice when they purchase their system, sort of like selecting a color or a CPU or a graphics card.
Each system could have a program for selecting a browser of choice that would install the selected browser.
Most computers are already sold with a ton of Crapware for trial, so several browsers could be preloaded by the manufacturer and the user could choose the one that fits his/her needs.
In general your question is the equivalent of, “If I weren’t required to buy a overpriced, rusted out jalopy how would I get to a car dealer to purchase the vehicle I really want?”.
Hi John,
Thanks for your comments, I see where you’re coming from.
“A customer could select the browser of choice when they purchase their system, sort of like selecting a color or a CPU or a graphics card.” –
They could, but not everyone is actually interested in computers and computing, even those people that go into a shop to buy one. They don’t want to spend hours researching the internet to see which browser is best just because they have to go into the shop and choose from 4 different ones, in much the same way that the majority of high street shoppers won’t walk into a shop and ask for a specific graphics card in a laptop.
“Each system could have a program for selecting a browser of choice that would install the selected browser.” –
So you’re suggesting that Microsoft should pre-install Firefox, Opera, Flock, Chrome, Safari and any other browser out there on its OS so that the customer can choose? That would be pretty generous of them don’t you think? The question here is about whether the practice is anti-competitive, installing software you’ve developed on your own OS just doesn’t seem so to me. There ARE plenty of alternatives to get if you don’t like IE. Should Ubuntu be required to bundle IE? Should Apple? If when you downloaded Firefox, do you think that there should be an option to install Internet Explorer instead as part of the install process?
“Most computers are already sold with a ton of Crapware for trial, so several browsers could be preloaded by the manufacturer and the user could choose the one that fits his/her needs.” – You would prefer MORE crapware to take up space, annoy and confuse the average consumer?
In general your question is the equivalent of, “If I weren’t required to buy a overpriced, rusted out jalopy how would I get to a car dealer to purchase the vehicle I really want?â€.
Taxi? Bus? Train? Lift? But seriously, there are lots of ways really… Sure you can buy a car without a car, just like you can research web browsers and decide which is best for you without ever touching IE, but in both cases, it does make it easier.
“it seems even stranger that Mozilla are trying to make a case for this now just as its market browser share is on the up.”
I suspect you just hit the nail on the head there.
PR noise, anyone?
Google have finally realised that Microsoft is fair game if you need some money, whether you have a real case or not (see the EU case, which is a total fraud intended only to extort money from Microsoft to pay some more EU kleptocrats and their million Euro villas on the rivierra).
File a claim against them and any politically correct judge will rule in your favour and there’s nothing Microsoft can do against it.