Opera wants Microsoft to offer browser 'ballot screen' worldwide

Microsoft's Friday proposal included a key concession: a "ballot screen" that would appear on Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 desktops where Internet Explorer (IE) was the default browser. EU antitrust officials had been pushing for such a screen -- which will provide download and informational links to at least four, and as many as nine, IE rivals -- as a way for Microsoft to avoid massive fines. Until last week, Microsoft had resisted adding a ballot to Windows.

The case, which the European Commission filed in , stems from a December 2007 complaint by Opera, and has already led to several compromises by Microsoft. Last March, Microsoft said it had added a to Windows 7 that allowed users to disable IE. Then in June, the company announced it would ship a special Windows 7E edition to EU customers this fall .

U.S. browser maker Mozilla reacted to Microsoft's ballot screen proposal in somewhat the same way as Opera. "We're interested in seeing the specifics of the proposal that Microsoft is making and until that point it's hard to have a definitive reaction," said Mozilla CEO John Lilly in an e-mail Saturday. "It is, of course, a good development that Microsoft will make changes to allow users to choose their own default Web browser."

Lilly listed several questions, including some that remained unanswered in Microsoft's detailed proposal. "Who determines which browsers participate in the ballot," Lilly asked. According to Microsoft's proposal, either the top 5 or top 10 browsers, including IE -- it's unclear which number -- in the EU by usage share will be featured in the ballot screen, with the share determined by "a source commonly agreed between Microsoft and the European Commission."

Like Lie, Lilly had his wish list. "In addition to the ballot screen, we hope to see Microsoft adopt practices in the operating system so that once a user makes their browser choice, Windows doesn't subvert it in any way," he said. Earlier this year, the European Commission to participate in the antitrust case as an "interested third party." It granted a similar request to GoogleGoogle, the maker of Chrome. Alles zu Google auf CIO.de