It looks like a surprising change of heart for Microsoft, but it’s actually all the result of a settlement they have been forced to make with the European Commission. It all came out of Microsoft’s efforts to end a 10 year anti-trust dispute with the EC and the result is the roll out of the ‘browser ballot box’. This means that Microsoft will now be providing the web browser choice screen to many of its users in the UK, France and Belgium giving many of those with Windows 7 the chance to choose an alternative to IE straight off the bat.
For years it’s been the standard for Microsoft to provide Internet Explorer installed automatically on all of their systems and also make it near impossible to get rid of. Internet Explorer has been the most popular browser for years and it is reasonable to assume that this popularity comes as a result of the fact that many users aren’t too bothered about which web browser they use and will quite happily just accept whichever bog-standard browser they have ready installed. However, this new ballot system will undoubtedly serve to spread the market out more evenly by offering a selection from some of the top web browsers available. This list includes such lesser known browsers as Opera and Safari as well as the more recently created Google Chrome and IE’s biggest competitor, Firefox.
The full scale roll out of this new ballot system will begin across Europe from as early as the 1st of March and it is expected that this new system will benefit both internet users and browser developers alike. For users it will signal a greater choice to get the right browser for their needs, while for browser developers it will provide the impetus to move forward and develop as their browser has an increased chance of being competitive. Personally, I worry about how people will use this new browser choice with some of the answers being provided in the video below. As for me, I’d opt for Firefox any day of the week, but what would you go for? Let us know so we can get an idea of the browser of choice for the internet savvy.
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