Microsoft toes EC line: no IE in Windows 7 for Europe

Stephen Withers
Friday, 12 June 2009 06:20

IT Industry - Development

(These days browser developers can get significant revenue from referral fees from Google and other search engines, so there's no need to charge for the browser itself.)

What Netscape and Microsoft realised was that getting your browser onto the majority of PCs helps drive sales of your server and web-development software.

And if that software results in sites that work better with your browser than someone else's, you've set up a feedback loop.

That harms the enlightened part of the web development industry, as non-standard implementations mean a lot of extra effort to make sure a site works properly with all the main browsers.

There's a particular problem with Internet-enabled non-PC devices such as games consoles and phones. Microsoft doesn't offer a browser for the leading platforms in those markets, so compatibility issues take on greater significance. Hence Opera's concern, as it is doing well in both markets.

And any coupling of a browser with server and development software works to the detriment of competitors in the latter segments.

The issue the EC is trying to address isn't really about bundling one free product rather than another. It's more about Microsoft using its dominance in one area to bolster its position in others.