Mozilla Gripes at Microsoft for Giving Edge and Edge

Mozilla’s Request to Microsoft - Easier Method of Browser Preference for Windows 10

Chris Beard, CEO of Mozilla recently published an open letter to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, calling on him to provide Windows 10 users with an easier method of setting their browser preference. Beard considered the lack of options in the Windows 10 experience as `very disturbing’ and seemed to be designed to supersede the preference of the user for apps and browser, compelling them in an experience which Microsoft wants them to have rather than the one they would prefer.

Carly Olsen, Microsoft spokesperson had informed that they had designed Windows 10 in order to provide a simple upgrade experience for users as well as an organized experience following the upgrade. Users who tend to upgrade to Microsoft’s Windows 10 with the express setup would have the new Edge browser set as their default.

She informed  that `during the upgrade, consumers will have the choice of setting defaults, including for Web browsing and following the upgrade, they could easily choose the default browser of their choice. Recently, Windows 10 was made available as a free download for Windows 7 and 8 users and has been downloaded more than 14 million times so far.

With Update, Some Programs Not Compatible

With each update of operating systems, users would probably observe that some of the programs may not be compatible. When the earlier versions of Windows were introduced, there have been several complaints over various issues. Beard requested that Mozilla make attempts to work with Microsoft to make sure that the users of Firefox would not come across any problems, but failed to do so.Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT had stated that `it seems fairly easy (to keep Firefox), especially since upgrading to Windows 10 does not uninstall third party apps, including browsers’.

He informed  that `users who tend to use Firefox, Chrome or others as their default browsers would have to undergo a manual process like the one in Windows 8. Besides updating the operating system, Windows 10 also seems to be replacing the long-running Internet Explorer with Edge, a browser which Microsoft claims to be faster, lighter as well as more modern than IE. Roger Entner, principal analyst at Recon Analytics had commented that considering the 73% or roughly three quarters of Internet users do not seem to be using Internet Explorer, it is a minor inconvenience or an annoyance’.

Nefarious Move by Microsoft

He further informed, that Microsoft’s position in the browser world seems to be a mere shadow of its former dominance. Beard suggested that Microsoft intentionally limited consumer choice to give itself an unfair advantage. According to Entner, he states that `people are seeing this as a nefarious move by Microsoft, though it could be the other way round. He remarked that `it could give people an opportunity to experience Edge, but Mozilla does not want them to try’.

King noted that the `previous versions of Windows had positioned IE as the default browser and if one wanted something different, they had to make it happen. Besides altering the process for choosing the default browser, Microsoft is doing what it had done for several years. Twenty years back in the summer of 1995, Microsoft had taken similar stand in using its newly launched Windows 95 to gain market share with IE that was closely tied to the OS. It is doubtful that Windows 10 and the Edge browser would activate a replay. There is even a possibility that Microsoft would not enjoy any advantage.