The supremacy of the challenge Microsoft System and IE for the first time partition

"IT168 message" Windows and IE have always been viewed by users as inseparable, but the partners also have a day to break up. Microsoft announced last week that it would no longer bundle IE with the Windows 7 operating system it sold to Europe to quell the EU's antitrust fury.

This is the first time since Microsoft launched IE browser, separated from Windows.

Microsoft's Internet Explorer has swept through the global browser market over the past decade, but Microsoft's bundling strategy is increasingly challenged in the rising tide of antitrust competition. Analysts point out that Microsoft's dominance in the browser arena will be challenged as its Internet Explorer bundle strategy is blocked.

Microsoft to cut off bundled sales of IE browsers

"We have decided that IE is not attached to the sale of the Windows operating system, but rather to the computer manufacturers and users to provide IE software, while ensuring that the installation process is simple." "In Thursday, Microsoft's vice-president, Dave Haina, admitted that in order to avoid the European Union's hundreds of millions of-euro ticket, Microsoft decided to give up the sale of Internet Explorer to the European market's Windows operating system.

It is reported that this is the first time since the Microsoft Development Browser, to cancel the decision to bundle IE. In the past more than 10 years, Microsoft has been adopting IE browser and Windows system bundled sales strategy, so as to ensure its high occupancy position in the browser market.

In a decade-old browser war, thanks to the bundling advantage, Microsoft eventually defeated Netscape, becoming the dominant Internet Explorer for more than 10 years. However, like the fate of other high market share Windows tying products, Microsoft's IE-browser bundling has finally attracted the challenge of rivals and multinational antitrust agencies.

Anti-monopoly law adds resistance to Microsoft's bundled sales

It is reported that the first to block is still to make Microsoft, Intel and other high tech giant crocodile headache of the EU members. After a year of investigation by Microsoft rivals Opera, Mozilla and Google, the EU's antitrust agency ruled earlier this year that Microsoft's "ie bundling" violates antitrust laws, requiring Microsoft to detach its IE browser and Windows operating system.

Microsoft was fined 1.7 billion euros by the European Union and forced it to sell a version of Windows that did not come with its own media player in the European market, as Microsoft bundled media players in Windows and refused to disclose compatible technical information to its server industry rivals.

In addition to the European Union region, Microsoft in the rest of the world also suffered a bundle of state sales against the voice, when Microsoft announced that the sale of non-IE version of Windows 7 in Europe, the South Korean Seoul District Court ruled that Microsoft violated the Korean antitrust law. Two South Korean software companies have sued Microsoft, hurting their interests by bundling instant messaging software and media playback software with "Windows" operating systems. Earlier this month, the Russian state Antimonopoly service also said it was conducting an antitrust investigation against Microsoft.

Cut down IE to pave the Windows 7

In March this year, Microsoft made concessions to the EU's antitrust accusations, under antitrust pressure, announcing that its new Windows 7 would grow to allow users to disable features such as IE 8 browsers and Windows Media player players, but not approved by the EU. Some analysts believe that Microsoft's friendly stance, in addition to easing antitrust pressure, the most important thing is to ensure a new generation of Windows operating System 7 normal listing. At present, Microsoft urgently needs to launch Windows 7 on time to fill the lean problem of Vista legacy products.

It is understood that due to the existence of poor compatibility, slow and so many deficiencies, since the listing, Vista has been rejected by the market. Microsoft has tried a lot of marketing to promote, even in the way of suppressing XP technical support to force users to change the Windows system, but none of the final results. In the two years since Vista was launched, the market share of XP remains as high as 62.85%. In the Chinese market, Mikenush, Microsoft's global vice-president for Windows, has publicly acknowledged the poor sales of Vista in China. Microsoft urgently needs to launch Windows 7 as soon as possible to eliminate the negative effects of Vista and regain its prestige.

In the view of Microsoft, the introduction of Windows 7, which has no IE bundled in EU countries, is a compromise of "abandoning the cart" in the European Union, in contrast to the sky-high fines of € more than 1 billion or the initiative to help rivals promote browser products. Earlier, the European Union said it wanted Microsoft to bundle other browsers in Windows 7.

"This new initiative is not our first choice, but we believe it is the best alternative to Microsoft in the context of an unspecified European lawsuit," he said. "Microsoft's deputy consultant admits. He said the company had no change in its determination to ensure that Windows 7 was listed globally on October 22.

Industry reviews

Microsoft's browser dominance will be challenged

Some analysts believe that Microsoft's dominance in the browser arena will be challenged, regardless of how Microsoft eventually ends up with the European Union.

It is understood that at present, in the global browser market, has long been not a decade ago Microsoft ie a taking-all situation, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari has a firm foothold, and constantly nibble on the Microsoft IE market. Microsoft's share of the browser market has slipped to 67.4%, while Mozilla's Firefox has 21.7% users and Apple's safari market share is 8%, according to Networkapplications's network survey company. In 2008, Microsoft also had a market share of nearly 73%, with Firefox and Safari market shares of 19% and 6.4% respectively.

What makes Microsoft uneasy is that Google has quietly been exerting its force in the browser market. The search giant, seen by the industry as a "Microsoft Killer," has been reaching out to the desktop in recent years through its influence in the Internet. Some industry insiders believe that the introduction of Google Browser is its subversion of Microsoft's desktop strategy is an important move, because in the Internet world, the browser is almost the only entrance.

Microsoft originally planned to borrow IE8 to regain lost ground, but now it seems more difficult than expected, because the lack of bundled advantage of IE browser means that the loss of user risk increased, not to mention the EU does not recognize Microsoft's no IE sales strategy. Even more lethal, Microsoft's failure in the EU could spark more antitrust activity in more regions of the world.

The only thing Microsoft can hope for at the moment is to lobby PC companies to bundle up Microsoft's IE browsers when selling PCs. Some analysts believe that Microsoft's dominance of the operating system, allowing PC companies to preinstall its IE browser is not difficult, this is Microsoft rejected the EU proposed in Winows 7 mixed with other browser requirements. However, all this depends on Microsoft's rivalry with the European Union, and if the EU stresses that Microsoft is a mix of other browsers, Microsoft's browser strategy will be severely hit, and the competition in the browser will be more intense.

Internet users troubled

How do you use a system without a browser?

Obviously, as long as you surf the Internet, the browser is the only entrance, if your new computer system does not have a browser, where do you go to get it? Because you can not download through the browser, maybe you can only hold a U disk to a friend where copy one is it?

This restriction system in the practice of bundling browsers are also questioned by some netizens, because this brings the trouble also exists, if the user often install the system, he will only browser software back to the USB disk or hard drive.

For users who have become accustomed to ie, the lack of IE in Windows 7 systems also means that it reduces the added value of Windows, while for users who dislike ie, he reduces the hassle of uninstalling IE. It seems that it is really tread to take account of the user's habits.