Cake Wars + Browser Wars: When Firefox ships a new version of its browser, IE sends along a cake. After the Firefox team started shipping incremental versions, Microsoft’s team started sending cupcakes instead. Now, Mozilla has returned the favor, sending the IE team a cake with a giant Firefox logo plastered on. Aww.
» A year and a half without clear choice: Although Microsoft claims that the missing screen was replaced as soon as the issue was brought to the company’s attention, European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia has announced that the EU is once again on the case. “We are now opening formal proceedings against the company,” said Almunia in a press release, adding, “If following our investigation, this breach is confirmed – and Microsoft seems to acknowledge the facts here – this could have severe consequences.”
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Australian electronics retailer charges “Internet Explorer 7 Tax”: Which sounds better to you, paying a 6.8 percent tax on your Kogan bill or upgrading to Chrome?
oppositeoffaith asks: RE: Reblog of the Wired Mock up/Microsoft ahead of the curve...I like. It's an interesting time-people have to be made aware of the damage the "Freemium" has done. The worst is that it has HIDDEN the cost-nothing is ever free...would love to see more on this...!
» SFB says: I don’t think “freemium” is totally a damaging prospect on its face, or necessarily the same thing in this case — in the case of magazines, they sell their subscriber lists, so this is just an extension of that. But I’m definitely with you — we’ve given up a lot of our privacy with some of these ad models, and we should think really hard about that as a culture. The fact that IE10’s implementation of “Do Not Track” is so controversial for some is a sign of how out of whack these priorities have gotten. Either way, this is the kind of thing we like to cover, so we’ll definitely keep an eye out. — Ernie @ SFB
(via Do Not Track Is An Opportunity, Not a Threat | John Battelle’s Search Blog) This is a mockup — for now anyway. But speaking personally, I think it would be fair enough; albeit with the addition of a 3rd option “click to pay (eg: 2$) for a months access to ad-free version” or similar.
First off, to emphasize again: This is a mockup, not real. But it’s rare to see Microsoft ahead of the curve on something like “Do Not Track,” which will be turned on by default on IE10. The solution for sites which could suffer from this type of change is to be upfront about it. Or, you know, to change up their model a little. Either way, let’s not do more stuff like this.
In which Microsoft tries to convince you that you don’t need to uninstall Internet Explorer the second you see it any … sorry, we got distracted because we spotted a rogue version of IE9 on this computer. (ht Matt)
Now this is a Black Friday alternative we can get behind, even if we disdain the use of Comic Sans in this image. Alexis Madrigal’s heart is in the right place. Chrome or bust!
For the handful of sites that won’t really work for due to legacy ActiveX controls, there will be a desktop-style browser available as a backup. Thinking about it a little bit, this is a poor handling of this situation if you ask us, because Microsoft runs a highly-used plugin of its own — Silverlight, which drives the Netflix Web app. Sure, Flash needs to die, but is Microsoft in a position to unilaterally make this decision?
yeah, We were surprised, too. Canadian firm ApTiquant recently reported that Internet Explorer users had lower IQ scores than users of other browsers — a study which, by the way, got picked up by a ton of news outlets. Turns out their entire study was completely fabricated (and the firm didn’t even exist until recently). When the BBC asked Professor David Spiegelhalter of Cambridge University’s Statistical Laboratory for his opinion, he said “these figures are implausibly low — and an insult to IE users.” Some people are willing to do anything to get IE users to upgrade — and we don’t blame ‘em. source
Is Chrome becoming the new IE? Perhaps it’s too soon to predict what’s going to happen, but Google Chrome has a rate of growth so impressive that Pingdom has them passing Internet Explorer by the middle of next year if they keep their current rate of growth up. And not a moment too soon. We were looking for a reason not to give a crap about Internet Explorer. They’re so bullish on Chrome that this chart doesn’t even equal 100 percent at its endpoint! (Do the math, guys.)
Today in reasons to be critical of the influence China has on the rest of the world, we submit to you “IE6 Countdown,” a Microsoft-made site that shows why the browser remains so prevalent a full decade after its initial release. See that giant red spot, showing widespread usage? That’s China. You know, beyond awareness campaigns, Microsoft could do more to get people to stop using IE6. They’re not doing enough, really. source
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