resource center
  See your link here
|
Computerworld - Mozilla again slammed the browser "ballot screen" proposal that Microsoft made to European antitrust regulators, saying that the voting will be skewed Apple's way because its Safari browser will be the first choice on the list.
In a long blog post yesterday, Jenny Boriss, a Firefox user experience designer, argued that Microsoft's ballot screen, which has been given preliminary approval by the European Commission, is unfair.
Microsoft proposed listing five browsers on the first screen of the ballot, including its own Internet Explorer (IE), Apple's Safari, Google's Chrome, Mozilla's Firefox and Opera Software's Opera. Although Microsoft first suggested that the browsers be ranked in order of market share from left to right, the commission objected, since its antitrust action was triggered by complaints that Microsoft stifled competition by bundling IE with Windows.
Instead, the ballot will list the browsers in alphabetical order, ranked by the name of the browser maker. That gives Apple the first spot, followed by Google, Microsoft, Mozilla and Opera.
"This ordering is about the worst option possible," said Boriss. "Microsoft wrote in their proposal that 'nothing in the design and implementation of the Ballot Screen and the presentation of competing web browsers will express a bias for a Microsoft web browser or any other web browser,' but this is exactly what the current design does. Windows users presented with the current design will tend to make only two choices: IE because they are familiar with it, or Safari because it is the first item."
Boriss was especially hard on Apple. "The disproportionate advantage to Safari is what really makes this design poor," she said, citing several studies that claim first position in a ballot gives an advantage, in part because Western voters scan from upper left to lower right when they read.
The problem with putting Apple first, continued Boriss, is that Safari on Windows is a mess. "Safari has the smallest market share of the five other browsers," she said. "Frankly, Safari is a good browser for Apple computers, but Apple hasn't put much effort to make it competitive on Windows. It's just not their priority. So, by listing Safari first, the ballot is presenting as the recommended item the browser that is least likely to be the one the user wants."
The 2009 Handbook of Application Delivery
Learn how to become better with application delivery.
Aligning IT to Business: The Rising Importance of Application Delivery Networks
Application Delivery Networking (ADN) will play a vital role in helping enterprises incorporate strategic technologies to achieve business initiatives.
Unified Application Delivery
By providing a unified Application Delivery Networking platform, F5 BIG-IP offers the ability for organizations to adopt a single platform for all its...
Preparing Your Business Services for the Future
Would you trust your network monitoring tools enough to know when something is truly halting a business service?
ROI of Application Delivery Controllers
How modern offload technologies in Application Delivery Controllers can drastically reduce expenses in traditional and virtualized architectures, with a fast ROI.
BMC Application Performance and Analytics: Predictive Intelligence in Action
See the highlights of BMC's Application Performance and Analytics today!
Gartner: Magic Quadrant for Application Delivery Controllers, 2009
The market for products to improve the delivery of application software over networks remains dynamic and innovative. Vendors focused on solving enterprises' most-pressing...
IPAM: Slashing Network Costs
Slashing Network Costs by Consolidating and Automating Core Network Services
Gartner: Load Balancers are Dead
This research shifts the attention from basic load-balancing features to application delivery features to aid in the deployment and delivery of applications.
Extending Client Refresh - 11 Steps to Maximize Savings
Register Now!
Sign up to receive updates on the latest Networking and Internet resources
Disaster Recovery & Cost Savings Zone
Thousands of customers world-wide have turned to virtualization solutions from Riverbed as a way to reduce costs.
CIO
Computerworld
CSO
DEMO
GamePro
Games.net
IDC
IDG
IDG Connect
IDG Knowledge Hub
IDG TechNetwork
IDG Ventures
IDG.net
InfoWorld
ITwhitepapers
ITworld
JavaWorld
LinuxWorld
Macworld
Network World
PC World
The Industry Standard
Copyright © 1994 - 2009 Computerworld Inc. All
rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium
without express written permission ofComputerworld Inc. is prohibited. Computerworld and Computerworld.com and the respective logos are trademarks of International Data Group Inc. |
