Here we go again – Opera files complaint against Microsoft in European Union
By Will Park on Thursday, December 13th, 2007 at 1:26 PM PST In Announcements, Applications, Developer, Financial/Corporate News
What is this, 1993? Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) is again the target of market-position abuse complaints in the European Union. Opera, maker of our favorite mobile browser, has filed a complaint with the European Commission against the software giant for abusing their dominant market position. Apparently, Opera isn’t liking Microsoft’s practice of bundling their Internet Explorer browser with Windows. Futhermore, Microsoft is accused of stifling interoperability by skirting accepted internet-language standardization.
Opera wants Microsoft to relent and give users a true choice in which browser they want to use. “We are filing this complaint on behalf of all consumers who are tired of having a monopolist make choices for them,” said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO of Opera. “In addition to promoting the free choice of individual consumers, we are a champion of open web standards and cross-platform innovation. We cannot rest until we’ve brought fair and equitable options to consumers worldwide.”
If Opera gets its way, the European Commission would force Microsoft to unbundle its Internet Explorer browser with Windows and possibly even offer alternative browser choices within Windows. We’re with Opera all the way on this one. Internet Explorer doesn’t follow internet-standards and causes more headaches for coders/developers/designers than most people will ever know. It requires more time and money to ensure that webpages will render correctly in IE, and ultimately wastes unnecessary time.
The revolution has begun – again! Viva la Opera!
[Via: Macworld UK]
I find this so mindless! A good proportion of users still love IE and stick by it religiously, regardless of whether it is packaged with windows or not – Users have full access to plenty of other browser sources should they feel the need to change browser!
How can Opera expect a company not to try and pass on its own products? At the end of the day, you are buying Microsofts products on their terms – Buy it, or you feel that strongly about it, leave it!
This is dumb. It was dumb then and its dumb now. Maybe Microsoft should unbundle Outlook and Media Player too. Jeez, its one thing if IE prevents you from going to the Opera website to download the browser but it doesn’t. The only people that care about Opera are the ones that download it. I have it but don’t use it. Shut up Opera and do what you do best, make mobile applications
Snore! Zzzzzzzzzz! Yawn!
“The only people that care about Opera are the ones that download it.” Well, of course. But the problem Opera complains about isn’t bundling so much as that IE does not follow accepted standards; and since IE is bundled with EVERY Windows system, all pages are written for it. I’ve used Safari, Opera, Avant, Firefox and IE4 through 7. I know from experience that some (admittedly very few) web pages just don’t load in anything but IE. I don’t WANT to use IE. I want to use–well, I prefer Firefox, but the point is that I could download and use whatever I chose if IE played fair in standards. I think that’s a valid point and not too much to ask.