Another Microsoft browser-related lawsuit?

[Darren Dirt]

Opera sues Microsoft over standards compliance

Opera has requested the Commission to take the necessary actions to compel Microsoft to give consumers a real choice and to support open Web standards in Internet Explorer.

...

Mary Jo Foley quickly chimed in on why it is a bad idea:

...In the end, Microsoft's own inertia, browser-security problems and inability to react quickly to market changes (where, oh where, is IE 8?) will continue to help its browser competitors more than a ruling by the EU or other antitrust body would.



I fail to see how this is a lawsuit. Opera have failed an antitrust complaint with the EU, that isn't the same thing.

Also, for all of you naysayers, Firefox won't overtake IE for another ten years unless something is done. All ms has to do is make their new version a bit shinier and support some new trinkets and most people won't care, they don't even know what a browser is.
-Comment by peroo



Microsoft's main argument is that they don't want do 'break the web'. As a rough guess from looking at various browser statistics 20% (and growing) of users are using modern standards compliant browsers. So surely the web is already 'broken' for a large percentage.
-Comment by Pete B



Firefox has proved you don't need to employ these crybaby tactics to be successful and it is foolish to think that you can over through the largest browser in a few years. It takes time for people to realize what is going on and why IE is a bad thing.

IMO, Opera is to blame for their poor market share, they have arguably the best browser on the market today but for years they forces ads on the browser and many people still have that perception of Opera dispite all the good they have accomplished.

-Comment by Site Smart



Just because Firefox is 'successful' at putting a dent in the browser market share doesn't mean that all web developers code for web standards.

So long as IE is the dominant player because of monopolistic practices we still have to support an old version of the web too. We all lose in this common denominator situation.

-Comment by xutopia

[Darren Dirt]

at first glance I thought this sounds like either a) pointless, or b) PR (or pointless PR) but...

zdnet got some clarification from Opera's Chief Technology Officer:

Yesterday, we filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission about Microsoft's practices regarding Internet Explorer. There has been some questions about our motives for this and I think it would help if I set the record straight, particularly as it comes to my area of expertise, Web standards.

It has been claimed that we're dredging up the past; the browser issue is dead and it was decided more than a decade ago. Actually, the browser issue is far from dead. The browser is more important now than it ever has been. The Web is exploding with new applications and new services. If we did not file with the Commission at this time, once Microsoft had settled their differences with the Commission, the fight for an open Web could have been lost forever.

...To help Microsoft and other browser makers support standards correctly, the Acid2 test was developed and published by the Web Standards Group. When published, it exposed bugs in all browsers. The programmers of Safari, Firefox and Opera got to work quickly and the latest versions of these browsers now pass the difficult test. Microsoft took a very different attitude and has not, seemingly, made any efforts to pass the test. This tells me we must do more than just ask them nicely.

At the same time, we recognize that developers have coded for Internet Explorer and we have no desire to break the Web. We have a group here at Opera that group that works only to improve Web compatibility across devices and browsers. We've even helped to make pages render properly in Internet Explorer. However, it is quite possible to support standards correctly while also rendering legacy content as the author expects. All modern browsers support two rendering modes: "standards" mode and "quirks" mode. We're simply asking Microsoft to make sure that their "standards" mode really support the standards.

...We're taking up this fight on behalf of those who share our belief in open standards and free choice. We are not seeking money from Microsoft. We are fighting this battle on behalf of open standards in the hope that the Web will remain the dynamic and open community it is. If we lose this battle now, those things will be gone. And I think that's something worth fighting for.

[Mr. Analog]

I think this is a really dumb move that will cost both sides too much in the long run.

[Thorin]

That Acid2 Test is neat!