The Volokh Conspiracy - EU Considering Requiring an IE-Less Version of Windows:

Apparently the European Union is considering requiring Microsoft to remove IE from the versions of Windows that it sells in Europe. This despite the fact, as reported by the Competitive Enterprise Institute:

How would the average user even select a preferred browser in the first place without a pre-installed browser? While OEMs could always pre-install a browser, anyone who wanted to install (or reinstall) a browserless version of Windows from scratch would need to jump through hoops just to get online.

More to the point, Opera's claim against Microsoft looks downright absurd given the reality of today's increasingly competitive browser marketplace. Despite IE being bundled with Windows, Firefox has gained significant ground on IE in recent years. Four years ago, IE had 91% global market share, while Firefox hovered around 3.5%. Now, Firefox is almost at 21% market share, and IE recently dropped below 70%.

Firefox's ascent did not happen because of a mass exodus of users from Windows to other operating systems. To be sure, Windows has faltered a bit as of late, but Firefox has gained the following of a massive number of Windows users who elected to download and install Firefox as a replacement for Internet Explorer. This illustrates that users are perfectly willing to pick their favorite application for a given task, even if that means downloading a third-party app on the Internet. Plenty of other programs, like VLC and Google Desktop, have taken off among Windows users even though these apps largely duplicate the functionality of bundled Windows components.

I just finally switched to Firefox a couple of weeks ago and wish I would've done it sooner. The only problem I seem to have is that sometimes pdf documents won't open correctly. I've tried a couple of things but none of them seem to work as a failsafe. If anyone has any advice, please let me know!

	[Todd Zywicki, January 21, 2009 at 5:38pm] Trackbacks EU Considering Requiring an IE-Less Version of Windows: Apparently the European Union is considering requiring Microsoft to remove IE from the versions of Windows that it sells in Europe. This despite the fact, as reported by the Competitive Enterprise Institute: How would the average user even select a preferred browser in the first place without a pre-installed browser? While OEMs could always pre-install a browser, anyone who wanted to install (or reinstall) a browserless version of Windows from scratch would need to jump through hoops just to get online. More to the point, Opera's claim against Microsoft looks downright absurd given the reality of today's increasingly competitive browser marketplace. Despite IE being bundled with Windows, Firefox has gained significant ground on IE in recent years. Four years ago, IE had 91% global market share, while Firefox hovered around 3.5%. Now, Firefox is almost at 21% market share, and IE recently dropped below 70%. Firefox's ascent did not happen because of a mass exodus of users from Windows to other operating systems. To be sure, Windows has faltered a bit as of late, but Firefox has gained the following of a massive number of Windows users who elected to download and install Firefox as a replacement for Internet Explorer. This illustrates that users are perfectly willing to pick their favorite application for a given task, even if that means downloading a third-party app on the Internet. Plenty of other programs, like VLC and Google Desktop, have taken off among Windows users even though these apps largely duplicate the functionality of bundled Windows components. I just finally switched to Firefox a couple of weeks ago and wish I would've done it sooner. The only problem I seem to have is that sometimes pdf documents won't open correctly. I've tried a couple of things but none of them seem to work as a failsafe. If anyone has any advice, please let me know!