Microsoft to open up windows to different Internet browsers

Microsoft has agreed to open up Windows to different Internet browsers in order to fend off European Union litigation, the European Commission announced Friday."Microsoft has proposed a consumer ballot screen as a solution to the pending antitrust case about the tying of Microsoft Internet Explorer Web browser with Windows," it said in a statement.It said computer users would be able to "easily install competing Web browsers, set one of those browsers as a default, and disable Internet Explorer" from the ballot screen."We believe that if ultimately accepted, this proposal will fully address the European competition law issues relating to the inclusion of Internet Explorer in Windows and interoperability with our high-volume products," Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith said in a release."This would mark a big step forward in addressing a decade of legal issues and would be good news for European consumers and our partners in the industry.

"The commission, Europe's top competition watchdog, opened a new front in its epic anti-trust battle with Microsoft in January.It hit the company with fresh charges of unfairly squashing competition by bundling its Internet Explorer Web browser into its ubiquitous Windows personal computer operating system.Under the plan, rival browsers including Firefox (Mozilla), Google's Chrome or Opera by Norway's Opera Software will now be placed before consumers at the point when they set up a new computer's operating preferences.European consumers who buy new Windows-based personal computers with Internet Explorer pre-set as the browser would be shown a "ballot screen" from which they could easily install competing browsers from the Web, Smith said.If the commission accepts the proposal, Microsoft will ship Windows 7 in Europe with IE built-in, as will be the case in the rest of the world with the software release in October, according to the Redmond, Washington-based firm.

"It's a win-win compromise... even more so for Microsoft," said Gartner analyst Neil MacDonald."Many consumers are going to choose Microsoft anyway, and it does avoid a really bad scenario where consumers get a machine without a browser and have no way to go get one."In an effort to appease EU regulators, Microsoft currently plans to ship "E versions" of Windows 7 to Europe without Web browsers."I think the EU finally understood that maybe they'd gone too far; in the name of protecting consumers they were actually hurting them," said MacDonald.Smith said Microsoft's proposal includes a "public undertaking" designed to promote interoperability between third party software and products including Windows, Windows Server, Office, Exchange, and SharePoint.

"The Commission welcomes this proposal, and will now investigate its practical effectiveness in terms of ensuring genuine consumer choice," the statement said.Microsoft on Wednesday declared its next-generation Windows 7 operating system ready for delivery to computer makers.More than 10 million people joined in testing Windows 7 software in a voluntary test program, according to the US company.Because of the regulatory wrangling in Europe, the Windows 7 version going on sale there was originally to have seen Internet Explorer completely removed.

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