What is this, 1993? Microsoft 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]