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Uncategorized Thursday, May 10th 2012 at 2:00 pm

Windows 8 To Cripple Third Party Browsers on Tablets, Mozilla and Google Cry Foul

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Everybody talks trash about Internet Explorer. It’s just what you do. And yes, Internet Explorer might not be quite as bad as it used to be, but you’d still be hard pressed to find a loyal fan. Those of us who are loyal fans of other browsers might have something to start worrying about. Windows RT, the ARM version of Windows 8 designed for use on tablets, effectively cripples all third-party browsers, and will force hapless users to go crawling back to IE whether they want to or not. Unsurprisingly, Google and Mozilla are less than pleased, and are making their opinions known.

Here’s the skinny: If you want to make an app that can be used on Windows RT, you have to distribute it through the Windows Store. If you want your app to be deliverable through the Windows Store, it can only use Windows RT code and none of the more robust APIs that you can use in the desktop environments. This means any third-party browers that want in on Window 8 tablets are going to be restricted to straight Windows RT code. Following?

The problem, as you might be able to guess, is that Internet Explorer gets a pass; Internet Explorer will be able to get the kind of deep OS integration that pure Windows RT code won’t allow. In short, the way things are now, Internet Explorer will be the best performing browser on Windows 8 tablets because it will be the only one with access to all of the tools a browser needs. Chrome and Firefox, on the otherhand, would have to develop apps using only the neutered Windows RT code, and will be worse for the wear as a result.

Naturally, both companies see this as a dangerous, non-competitive move. Mozilla has said these restrictions herald “an unwelcome return to the digital dark ages” in a blog post on the subject. Meanwhile, Google has said it “[shares] the concerns Mozilla has raised regarding the Windows 8 environment restricting user choice and innovation” in an emailed statement on the subject.

Fortunately Windows 8 isn’t finished yet, so these restrictions are not set in stone, but they do not bode well for third-party browsers at the moment. Microsoft still has the opportunity to clear the air on the subject or offer a fix, and it’ll be interesting to see how they take it. When it comes to forcing products that are widely considered to be inferior while locking out competition, Microsoft already has some experience with Bing on the Xbox. Whether they can pull off the same trick with Windows 8 remains to be seen.

(via Geek.com)

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  • guest

    I was contemplating a windows 8 tablet when they come out, but I was under the impression I could load whatever software I wanted onto it.  If I can only put software from their store then I see no advantage to having one over say an iPad.

  • http://twitter.com/Jademarisa Jademarisa

    I can’t see why must we cry out in such a way at Microsoft doing exactly the same thing Apple has been doing for decades – and geeks and fanpeople never seemed to care about.

  • Anonymous

    “over say an iPad…”

    Which you can only load software from *Apple’s* store onto.  This is no different than any other tablet on the market, save for Android which you have a decent variety of browsers to choose from on.

  • Jack Bond

    Yeah, but to have a tablet with the functionality of a full desktop computer would be a superior experience to that of an iPad.

  • Jack Bond

    First of all, didn’t Microsoft LOSE a lawsuit for crippling other browsers in their OS in the past?

    That being said, the Safari browser for iPhone is exactly the same as the proposed IE for Windows 8 and nobody ever made a fuss about that. I want my iPhone Chrome. Until I get that, I’m not supporting any 3rd party software for Windows tablets.

  • Some Dude

    I wouldn’t call myself a “fan” of IE, but the way the latest release (and frankly, the ones for several versions before) of Firefox keeps having memory leaks, especially when tabs are left open for more than an hour, lagging, freezing for no apparent reason for over a minute, etc. I might have to use IE or Chrome.

    And no, I’m not running any extensions, not even adblock, Nod32 and many other programs tell me I’m virus-free, etc. Mozilla needs to get its act together if it wants to not be the next Netscape.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_XAOGF636RLXAMLLGOC345HYLIU Dave

    Microsoft PR at work.  Get people upset at your product before it even comes out.
    They may not be doing anything different than Apple, but they’re not playing the PR game, as usual.  On the other hand, insisting on making everyone use your under-performing software is not the hill on which to die.

  • Matori

    This can’t be legal. I think the Federal Trade Commission might have a thing or two to say about this considering M$ has found themselves in trouble over Internet Explorer before. 

  • http://www.chasessweeps.com Chase Poore

    Cry me a river. If the people buying the Windows 8 tablet don’t care then why should you? If you don’t like it then don’t buy it.

  • Anonymous

    That’s just killed all the enthusiasm I had for W8 for my next system. More than 20 years after my first 286, this, if true, would be enough to move me off the windows platform entirely.  A move this stupid and abusive is about the only thing that would finally push me to climb over the linux or android learning curb. MS, walled-gardens are the past, not the future of computing. 

  • pc.monkies.suck

    when Micro$oft starts to make things on apple’s level, then they can think about to pulling off a move like this. this action stinks of ”we can’t compete”.

  • I hate apple

    gee, who does this sound like?

    hint: they’re fighting samsung right now.

  • anonymous

    well, and that’s a large portion of the reason why apple only has about 19-20% of the operating system market. Most people hate their closed mindedness, and how restrictive they are.

  • anonymous

    except this isnt that- this is just an ipad of a different flavor, and likely less stable.

    Apple- don’t take that as a compliment.
    they can both go to hell.

  • fakenstein

    Are you sure?
    Because microsoft can get sued for monopoly , again…