Microsoft to randomly generate EU browser ballot list
In response to complaints from browser makers, Microsoft has revised its antitrust-settlement with European Union regulators so that Windows users will see a browser ballot screen that randomly lists the icons of the top five browsers upon every launch. The previous method had them listed in alphabetical order, putting Apple's Safari first. Complaints from Opera, Google, and Mozilla resulted in the change, and also pushed Microsoft into moving the ballot screen from Internet Explorer into a standard webpage format, according to Bloomberg, which cites two unnamed people familiar with the case. The browser ballot screen will let European PC users download a third-party browser without having to use Internet Explorer.
In response to complaints from browser makers, Microsoft has revised its antitrust-settlement with European Union regulators so that Windows users will see a browser ballot screen that randomly lists the icons of the top five browsers upon every launch. The previous method had them listed in alphabetical order, putting Apple's Safari first. Complaints from Opera, Google, and Mozilla resulted in the change, and also pushed Microsoft into moving the ballot screen from Internet Explorer into a standard webpage format, according to Bloomberg, which cites two unnamed people familiar with the case. The browser ballot screen will let European PC users download a third-party browser without having to use Internet Explorer.
