Open To Choice Campaign: Mozilla Talks Choice Screen
After a lengthy antitrust case spurred by an Opera Software complaint, the European Commission finally accepted Microsoft’s proposal of presenting a browser ballot screen to Windows users in the EU. Redmond-based software giant Microsoft announced it will roll out the choice screen (that’s what Microsoft calls the ballot screen) this March – only to Windows users that have Internet Explorer set as default. The choice screen will present the 12 most popular browsers out there in random order.
“We plan to begin a phased roll-out of the update across Europe the week of March 1.The browser choice screen software update will be offered as an automatic download through Windows Update for Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. The software update will be installed automatically, or will prompt you to download or install it, depending on which operating system you are running and your settings for Windows Update. If you do not have automatic updating enabled, you can get the choice screen by going to Windows Update and clicking on Check for Updates,” explained Vice President and Deputy General Counsel with Microsoft
Amongst the browsers presented in the choice screen is Mozilla’s Firefox browser. The Mozilla Foundation is not trying to push its browser on you - although personally I am a big fan of Firefox and would advise you to give the browser a shot; the latest version is Firefox 3.6 . This week the Mozilla Foundation launched the Open to Choice campaign. Via this campaign Mozilla is trying to raise awareness amongst web users in the EU and try to help them make an informed decision when they’ll be presented with the choice screen.
You should know that there are about 200 million European users that will get to see the choice screen. They will be asked to choose which web browser they want to choose. In this regard they should be able to make an informed decision. They should be able to get a browser that “will act on their behalf to broker their online experiences.”
“We believe that the Browser Choice screen is an important milestone towards helping more people take control of their online lives — and we hope for the conversation to become broader and deeper. We’ve set up opentochoice.org as one place for you to discuss what this choice means to you — and we hope that you’ll add your own voice to this conversation and those to come. Whether or not you decide to keep your current Web browser, we encourage you to learn more about your browser and the impacts it has on the way you see the world, and to make your own choice,” said Mozilla CEO John Lilly and Mozilla Chair Mitchell Baker in an open letter.
“We plan to begin a phased roll-out of the update across Europe the week of March 1.The browser choice screen software update will be offered as an automatic download through Windows Update for Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. The software update will be installed automatically, or will prompt you to download or install it, depending on which operating system you are running and your settings for Windows Update. If you do not have automatic updating enabled, you can get the choice screen by going to Windows Update and clicking on Check for Updates,” explained Vice President and Deputy General Counsel with Microsoft
Amongst the browsers presented in the choice screen is Mozilla’s Firefox browser. The Mozilla Foundation is not trying to push its browser on you - although personally I am a big fan of Firefox and would advise you to give the browser a shot; the latest version is Firefox 3.6 . This week the Mozilla Foundation launched the Open to Choice campaign. Via this campaign Mozilla is trying to raise awareness amongst web users in the EU and try to help them make an informed decision when they’ll be presented with the choice screen.
You should know that there are about 200 million European users that will get to see the choice screen. They will be asked to choose which web browser they want to choose. In this regard they should be able to make an informed decision. They should be able to get a browser that “will act on their behalf to broker their online experiences.”
“We believe that the Browser Choice screen is an important milestone towards helping more people take control of their online lives — and we hope for the conversation to become broader and deeper. We’ve set up opentochoice.org as one place for you to discuss what this choice means to you — and we hope that you’ll add your own voice to this conversation and those to come. Whether or not you decide to keep your current Web browser, we encourage you to learn more about your browser and the impacts it has on the way you see the world, and to make your own choice,” said Mozilla CEO John Lilly and Mozilla Chair Mitchell Baker in an open letter.
