Microsoft Offers Web Browser Choice to IE Users

Source: BBC Technology News

Millions of European Internet Explorer (IE) users will have the option to choose an alternative browser from 1 March, Microsoft has announced.

It follows a legal agreement between Microsoft and Europe's Competition Commission in December 2009.

Microsoft committed to letting Windows PC users across Europe install the web browser of their choice, rather than having Microsoft IE as a default.

Figures suggest that over half the world's internet users have IE.

Testing for the update is already underway in the UK, Belgium and France.

The software update choice will arrive automatically for Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 customers, according to a blog post by Dave Heiner, Microsoft's vice president and deputy general counsel.

The blog also contains screen grabs of the message as it will appear.

"Users who get the choice screen will be free to choose any browser or stick with the browser they have, as they prefer," wrote Mr Heiner.

Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Opera are the alternative browsers that people will be offered.

"Millions of people who have never really thought about which browser to use will now be forced to make a choice," said BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones on his blog.

"That presents Microsoft's rivals with a unique marketing opportunity."

Mozilla Foundation chair Mitchell Baker described the news as "an important milestone towards helping people take control of their online lives."

Have You Heard of Maxthon?

So... have you really heard of Maxthon? Maybe not, especially if you are not into searching the Internet for programs and all.

Maxthon is just another browser.

When we speak of web browsers, we often refer to Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, or Apple Safari. But not Maxthon.

For those who want to try something new, give Maxthon a go. It, just like the other browsers, allows tab browsing. It also offers other amazing features and here are some of them (and check out the video at the end of this entry):

(taken from FileHippo)

The Ultimate Out-of-box Experience

• Easy to use and powerful straight out of the box
• Download now for free, forever!

Maxthon Works the Way You Want It To

• Swap, add, move, remove, and change Maxthon's tool bars, icons, menus, colors, skins, and layouts until it looks the way you would have designed it.
• Don't like menus? Use hot keys, word aliases, toolbars, or mouse gestures - it's all up to you.
• Pick from more than 1,400 plug-ins that make Maxthon the do-all of browsers.
• Remote conferencing, screen capture, electronic passports, and automatic password inlcuded, free.

Security.

• Maxthon is 100% free of viruses, spyware, adware – any kind of malware.
• The built-in Ad Hunter blocks harmful, or just irritating ads, images and pages.
• Filter packs screen out offensive and irritating Web pages.

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DOWNLOAD MAXTHON