Browser Choice – What’s That About
In December 2009 the European Union obliged Microsoft to offer a choice of browsers to their European customers when they installed new versions of Windows. This browser choice was also delivered in updates to Windows and so the Browser Choice screen was born and has been with us ever since. See my featured image of Microsoft’s browser choice screen offering Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari, Mozilla Firefox and the Opera browsers amongst others.
Browser Choice Ends
It turns out that this requirement by the EU had a time limit of five years which has now expired. Consequently Microsoft have quietly withdrawn the option to choose other browsers and returned to providing Internet Explorer alone. People can of course continue to use other browsers with Windows as they see fit but Internet Explorer is now what comes out of the box.
This is what Microsoft have to say about it.
This is what the BBC have to say.
My View On The Browser Choice Situation
I have to deal with older people who need help with using computers but have very little experience of them or the internet. I have to deal with questions such as, “What is a browser?” So when my friends were offered alternatives all it did was add to the confusion. I would explain what it was all about and then remove the Browser Choice shortcut from the desktop. I didn’t want them to click on it and suddenly find themselves with a different browser which they were not familiar with. I would then have to try to explain its use over the phone, in emails or visit them to get them back to Internet Explorer with which they had become familiar.
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