NetworksMozilla: EU's Win 7 Browser Ballot is Favoritism.
The Mozilla Corporation has said it is not happy with the ballot option that will allow Windows 7 users in the European Union to choose which browser they would like to use.
Mitchell Baker, the Chair of the Mozilla Foundation, said last week in a blog post that the proposed settlement between the European Commission and Microsoft regarding the bundling of Internet Explorer with the Windows OS could use some improvement.Â
Baker argues that the agreement still offers "Internet Explorer a uniquely privileged position on Windows installations," in that even if a user does not choose IE as their default browser on the ballot screen, a shortcut is still placed on the user"s desktop.
Baker continues on to say that the ballot is about downloading software and while it may help the less tech savvy to download and make an alternative browser their default, many would get lost half way through the process.
The Mozilla Chairman"s third point is that IE is still included in the Windows updates system. While Baker does concede that for security reasons, it is better to include IE than have an out of date and dead piece of software on your computer, he argues that there should be a few safeguards in place to ensure IE does not use the automatic update process to ask for permission to become the default browser. For example, if IE presents itself to the user as part of an automatically triggered update process, it should close immediately after the update process completes.
Obviously, interested parties still feel there is a long way to go before the browser issues in the EU are resolved. Do you think the ballot proposal is a good idea or do you agree with the Mozilla Foundation in that it still offers Microsoft an advantage? Let us know in the comments below!
Check out Mitchell Baker"s full post here.