Browser Choice?
Tagged with: Government & Microsoft & Rant & Web Development.
Microsoft having to comply with a ridiculous ruling from the European Commision causes untold problems with users
Firstly I must apologise for not posting here for a while – we’ve gained a couple of large projects requiring most of my time. More stress = more requirement for sleep!
For once I’ve actually been getting some
(ooh er missus!)
Thought I’d share a quick rant with you!
“Microsoft is providing the Browser Choice update to comply with a legal settlement with the European Commission. Microsoft is required to inform customers who currently use Internet Explorer as their default browser that there are other web browser choices available.”
That’s the opening shot from the Microsoft website detailing what and why this stupid thing is (read it here)
We were no longer allowed to simply use the installed version of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, but we had to be offered a choice of which browser to use. Apparently, installing an Internet browser within your own operating system is anti competitive and was an example of Microsoft abusing it’s dominant market position.
I have two points to say…
- Firstly – surely those people who would like to choose their browser HAVE ALREADY DONE SO.
Downloading Chrome or Firefox wasn’t that difficult for those people who wanted/needed to change was it? - Secondly – why enforce the choice?
Surely MOST people don’t actually want to change at all. I NEVER hear clients complaining that their Internet browser is poor quality!
Within my own experience counting the number of clients who have called to ask what this ‘Browser Choice’ thing is, there really was no point to this stupid offering.
I have even experienced some clients accidentally changing browsers when they NEED Internet explorer for some specific business critical software to run.
Admittedly simple to fix but the client has wasted time changing to a different browser, calling us then getting it reset back to where they wanted it in the first place.
Just another pointless waste of European funds – paying idiot bureaucrats €€€€s to make our lives just that little bit more inconvenient.
PLEASE LEAVE THEÂ COMPUTERÂ DECISIONSÂ TO THOSE WHO KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING!!!
#Note#
If you would like a quick quiz on some of the stupid rules that the European Commission have passed try this from the BBC
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This action in my opinion does nothing but confuse people. I agree that “browser aware folk” (like me) will have already made their choice, whilst the rest probably don’t either care or don’t know what a browser is. This post on my blog illustrates the issue as Google found out last year. http://tinyurl.com/yyccgar