Recently Mozilla became involved in a suit along with the European Commission (EC) against Microsoft with regards to Internet Explorer (link). The suit is anti-trust in nature (what isn’t these days when Microsoft is involved?). I understand that Microsoft won its anti-trust case in the U.S. and they “proved” that they have every right to bundle IE with their OS.
It’s important to understand that Microsoft makes a sub-par web browser and they have ever since IE 5 and 6. The development stagnated once they destroyed Netscape in the 90′s and they disbanded the development team (for IE). I’m going to say that again, at one point in time, Microsoft disbanded the development team for Internet Explorer according to my sources. That’s ridiculous and it speaks to the larger issue. The issue that I’m going to bring to light here today.
I don’t really want to get involved in all of the details and the politics of this battle. I just want to look at the big picture. IE is a sub-par web browser because of a few key reasons:
- Microsoft has dominated the web browser market and continues to do so. Until IE 7 they had no intention of innovating in this space and making the browser better. IE 6 became a disaster and exposed millions of PC users to security threats through IE 6. This is irresponsible and shameful. It’s shameful because the company clearly only cares about the browser when they feel threatened, not because they want users to experience the best web browsing experience possible.
- Microsoft’s IE has been losing market share in the web browser space since Firefox was released. (link)
- Internet Explorer is a sub-par browser when it comes to JavaScript speed and performance. (link)
- Until the pre-release versions of IE 8 came along, IE still used a mode of browser that did not adhere to web standards. They are in the early stages of adhering to web standards, but as stated in the first bullet the company doesn’t give off the vibe that they’re dedicated to the user. This makes me question how dedicated they are to web standards. Regardless, IE 8′s web standards mode is not perfect and it still lags behind Firefox. It’s simply inferior at this point.
I think what becomes clear here is that even if Microsoft is allowed to continue to bundle and include IE with Windows, that doesn’t mean that there shouldn’t be more avenues for people to choose their web browser. What I’m concerned with when IE is shipped with Windows is that people don’t understand they don’t have to use it.
I just conducted a survey of family and friends. Most of them use Firefox, but a majority do because I told them to try it out. Others use IE simply because it is there and it “works” whatever that means. I’ve found IE increasingly cumbersome and annoying over the last few years. IE 8 is not impressive and is still slow compared to Firefox and Chrome. Sure IE 7 and IE 8 are more secure than previous versions and they include tabbed browsing, but that doesn’t make them any good. I have more problems surfing the web with IE than I ever do with Firefox.
Another aspect to this is company culture and mission. Mozilla is a non-profit organization with the sole purpose of building and shipping the highest quality web browser in the world. That is their charge, it’s their goal in life and it is pervasive throughout the company. You can find it on the web sites of Mozilla (which is completely transparent) and you can find it with the caliber of person they employ. Everyone in the company is dedicated to that purpose, to make Firefox the best browser in the world. They are not motivated by greed or profits or business tactics. They only want people to be able to view the web (an increasing part of our lives) through a lens that is secure, powerful, fast, and open-source.
The open-source aspect of this is paramount as well. Mozilla is not a closed-source company like Microsoft. Microsoft is proprietary and it shows because they desperately lack innovation. On the other side, Mozilla is pushing the limits of innovation every day with every build of Firefox. Being open-source is important to Mozilla and it shows. The entire development of the browser is open and ready for contribution from the international community. A small team (or even a large team) within Microsoft develops IE whereas a small team within Mozilla develops Firefox with the assistance of an entire international effort. Programmers from all over the globe contribute ideas, fixes, and development to Firefox. This translates to a better browser when everyone that uses the browser has some say in how it works.
I want Mozilla to succeed and I want Firefox to continue to gain market share as long as their culture stays the same. As long as they continue to ship a world-class web browser I’m going to support them 100%. I want Microsoft to be humbled by this and that in turn might make development of IE better. But right now I don’t see it. IE 8 RC1 is fine but it’s not even close to the power, sophistication, and speed of Firefox. IE 8 has a clunky UI and while it can show you web pages, it’s not an experience and it’s certainly not yours. In fact IE has nothing to do with you, it’s all about Microsoft. It’s all about Microsoft and how they see things and how they think you should view the web. You’ve got to weigh that. Proprietary vs Open-Source. What is better for you? For me it’s Open-Source and I think it can and should be that way for everyone.
As far as Paul Thurrott goes, I love his podcast and website and blog. I like hearing his ideas on the tech world and Microsoft in general. I respect him as an enthusiast, tech journalist, and writer. But I think he has this wrong. He is a big fan of Firefox and uses it as his primary web browser. I’m not going to call him a fanboy, but I think if he makes good on this threats to switch to IE 8 because of Mozilla’s actions in conjunction with the EC, that might make me wonder. Paul – if you think Firefox is the best browser around, and you truly believe that, then it shouldn’t matter what Mozilla is doing legally to make people aware of their presence. You should use the best browser because it’s the best. Bottom line. Case closed. That’s the point I’m trying to make here.
Whatever the good and bad are with regards to legal action taken by Mozilla, I think Firefox is the best. What their goal is and should be in this regard is getting people to realize there’s a choice. If Microsoft is going to continue to ship IE with Windows maybe they should have a prompt during install that lets people know it’s not all there is. That’s good enough for me. When I see people using IE simply because it’s there, despite the fact that there are other choices that may be (and are in my opinion) better, that saddens me. We need open competition. We need a web browser space where users know they have a choice right off the bat, regardless of what OS they’re using. If that comes true, I think we’ll all be using Firefox as long as they continue to function as they function now. A company with the expressed intention of making your web browsing enjoyable and fully an experience that you own.
