Here It Is: The Browser Ballot Screen

so nothing will change joe/jane user will pick the blue E the slight to moderate geeks will go with FF, a sporadic group will go with Chrome, lessthan or equal to 4% will used safari, and at the very bottom Opera

Which browser is the "hopey changey" one? I want to vote for that one.

OT, since Paul cleverly tries not to allow comments on his puff piece "Previews" of Microsoft products like the still-a-year away Windows 7 Phone Series, which has already won the "worst new product name" award. So, some comments on that: "Yes, you'll run apps from time to time. But with Windows Phone 7, more often than not, users will instead interact with panoramic experiences--hubs--that are made up of related applications and services." So, the big innovation: Apps organized in folders. I've also learned that when Microsoft (and Paul, basically an arm of the Microsoft PR dept), start in on "rich user experience", you can be sure that the product will be bloated and ready to collapse under it's own weight. It's the Microsoft culture, instead of something simple that works, we have to get a "rich experience". Internally, they know they have this fault, they just can't stop doing it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeXAcwriid0 But, the strangest thing is that Paul has lost the ability to distinguish between a product and an announcement. " Microsoft, long regarded as slow-moving and inept, has proven that it can enter a market quickly with a game-changing device that makes the current market leader look sad by comparison." Enter a market quickly? A year from now is "quickly"? "A game-changing device that makes the current market leader look sad by comparison". Yes, let's compare an non-shipping, still in alpha-test device with a device that currently sells in the millions. Yes, surely Apple, will do NOTHING over the next year, because they are "slow-moving", not the nimble little outfit like the boys up in Redmond. "With Windows Phone 7, Microsoft appears to have done the impossible. It has created a platform that easily exceeds anyone's expectations. That it comes in the wake of Apple's lackluster and me-too iPad product announcement makes this all the more delicious. The tables have turned. This is going to be a great year." Done the impossible? What have they done besides hold a press conference stating what they plan to do a year from now? Going to be a great year? Maybe, for Microsoft PR bloggers, but there isn't going to be a product for a year.

Oh man I hate Thurrott so much. I just can't help but read his site daily and troll it. Oh man, he sucks so bad. He's the worst ever. I'm a douche. etc.

Opera has the longest description ;)

It says browser choices 6-12 are also random. But what are the other browsers? I'm curious now.

hey, chuckb84, it's ok, you can take a breath. Even if you don't retort to Paul's articles, the world will be fine, trust me. In fact, Paul, don't ever remove comments, as chuckb84 will be very stressed out if you do... he won't be able to include his brilliant commentary on cr.a.p nobody cares about...

@Chris_Wiley - I have a feeling that you are correct. Some of the corrupt members of the EC will still say that this is not enough and that MS must be punished for being successful. --tayme

"What happens if Opera's marketshare continues to go down after all this?" They will continue to complain and get the EC involved further. And Apple fans, don't gloat too much. Opera has got its sights on the iPhone too, and the friendly EU countries just might try and force the issue. "Which browser is the "hopey changey" one? " I LOL'd at that.

Microsoft have to provide a ballot screen because they are not allowed to use their monopoly in the OS market to ramroad themselves into a virtual monopoly in the web browser market. I think it's a good thing, being a British citizen. The EU didn't suddenly change the law so MS would have to do this, they are simply ensuring MS complies with existing law.

"Which browser is the "hopey changey" one? I want to vote for that one." The Obama one on the right? (Er, LEFT, I mean left!)

Opera would complain that there's a flaw in the randomized number generator that causes IE to come first more often.

"You are fools and you are pretty naive if you believe any of Microsoft, Apple or Google are here for you." Ok fine, you can debate that all you want. The thing is, if nobody bought into any products that they make, they wouldn't exist, and you wouldn't have a computing platform to deface them the way you summed up in that argument. They want you to buy their product, and if they can't keep you happy with their product, then they go out of business. They aren't evil or greedy just because they want to sell you something. It's HOW they sell [to] you that's in question, compared to how competitors sell, or compared to what is considered unethical. Why do you think consumers stopped spending in the last couple of years? It's only because the US government started saying that consumers are overspending that people stopped. Of course, that goes further down into mortgage and insurance companies and whatnot, but it's only because the US government SAID that consumers were overspending and that mortgage companies were going to fall into gov't oversight that people started acting frugal. Of course, you can then look at the domino effect of the economy and now nobody wants to spend frivolously, and so forth, but it's not like consumers were doing anything different that they were some 5 or 10 years ago before the US stated it.

"redunion1940 said: so nothing will change joe/jane user will pick the blue E the slight to moderate geeks will go with FF, a sporadic group will go with Chrome, lessthan or equal to 4% will used safari, and at the very bottom Opera" Being a computer geek myself .... I use IE8 about 95% of the time, Opera and Firefox the rest of the time (I prefer Opera over Firefox); although when I have my Linux box up, I tend to run Firefox (I used to be a Konquerer user :) ).

"I used to be a Konquerer user :) " Konqueror actually "borrowed" a feature that was introduced in IE4 - using a single application for both file browsing and web browsing - a feature no longer considered "safe".

It appears that after further deliberation with the EU, Microsoft may be revising the browser ballot screen further. Here what the new browser ballot screen looks like: http://unndunn.com/Storage/Pictures/Misc/browserballot.jpg

@Waethorn Point taken. However you have to draw the line somewhere: you just can't endorse everything X company makes based on the faith that it is more good willed than another. That was the point I was trying to make, with my sloppy english...

"OS War, brand loyalists are simple minded" Could not agree more. Someone should share this concept with Paul.

Keleko said: Which browser is the "hopey changey" one? I want to vote for that one. ---------------- The level of political helplessness has now reached a new level in the U.S.

"Is surfing the web in the same app considered unsafe, or is surfing the web in the same process that is the shell unsafe?" Both, actually. Even when it's the same app, there are inherent security issues involved even if it is a different process. You can easily create a "cross-scripting" exploit to take care of any security flaw found in the file browser to give a remote user access to files, except that it isn't cross-scripting since it's the same app. The way these apps have worked is that the commands that they use to view files uses the same mechanism as the address bar for webpages, which can be used to pass files back and forth, and a buffer overflow exploit could easily allow outside access. "Your comment about people in the US halting their spending because the "government stated it" is utter nonsense." You need a history lesson from the last couple of years then. As soon as the US government said that spending was going overboard and they were clamping down on overspending into mortgage companies and whatnot, spending halted, and the economy took a nosedive. Not only that, but foreign countries that carry US dept stopped investing in the US, making US exports an unwanted commodity. If the US gov't didn't step in, overspenders would just go silently bankrupt, but overall spending wouldn't have suddenly stopped and the economy wouldn't have dropped like a lead brick. The world economy just dropped dead only months before Bush left office. Before that, you couldn't say it was perfect, but it certainly wasn't spiralling out of control either. When the US gov't said it was bad, everybody got nervous and stopped spending. That was sudden. To deny that is to deny the facts.

It was a general statement =p I've been reading this blog for a while and I'm well aware that you are the kind of person that would man an educated choice when it comes to consuming products such as software. Really sorry my english is that rusty..

Then again, by virtue of using Windows itself shows a lack of intelligence.

@SoonerSkeene: So why does choosing Safari automatically forward to the UK version, instead of offering me a choice in languages? I even changed my OS language to French and German, and it still went to UK English.

"robertsjoe said: People with any amount of intelligence whatsoever will pick Chrome, Firefox or Safari over IE." Frankly, that is insulting and it is your opinion and nothing more. FWIW, I have multiple degrees, including one in Electical Engineering ,and am a Senior Windows Programmer by trade .... AND I CHOOSE IE8 over the others because it is my choice.