Mozilla takes swipe at Windows 7

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 7 May 2009 at 14:52

Mozilla has launched a scathing attack on Windows 7, claiming it's imminent release will harm the browser market.

At the heart of Mozilla's complaint is a fear that when people upgrade to Windows 7 from Vista, Internet Explorer 8 is automatically chosen as the default browser - unless customers delve into the custom options and choose otherwise.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Mozilla's chairwoman Mitchell Baker claimed Windows 7 represented "a blatant use of the Windows operating system to change the market dynamics of browser usage."

"What we've seen so far is a clear example of why and how Microsoft's Windows monopoly damages competition in related products," she adds.

Opera also weighed in on the complaint: "This issue highlights the problem with the browser market," says Opera's chief technology officer Hakon Wium Lie. "It's certainly something we would want to discuss."

Indeed, Opera's already had a conversation with the European Union regarding Microsoft's bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows. The software maker will make its case against the charges at a hearing between 3 and 5 June.

If found guilty it could be forced to bundle rival browsers with future operating systems.

We were awaiting comment from Microsoft at the time of writing.