Mozilla says only a crippled version of Firefox could run on Windows for ARM chips, effectively restricting user choice to IE10, and now the maker of Chrome says it's worried, too.
Google has joined Mozilla in its
attempt to push Microsoft to permit full-fledged browsers other than Internet
Explorer on Windows RT, its operating system geared for devices
running ARM processors
.
Mozilla objects to Microsoft decisions that, it says,
prevent it from bringing a competitive version ofFirefox to
Windows RT. Other browsers don't get access to the same operating system
abilities that IE10 gets, recalling browser battles from earlier years that
ultimately triggered government antitrust actions in the United States and
Europe
We share the concerns Mozilla has raised regarding the Windows 8
environment restricting user choice and innovation. We've always welcomed
innovation in the browser space across all platforms and strongly believe that
having great competitors makes us all work harder. In the end, consumers and
developers benefit the most from robust competition.
Mozilla spokesman Asa Dotzler puts it this way:
First, Microsoft has a browser that runs in Classic mode
on Windows ARM. They are not allowing us that same access to run our browser on
Classic. Second, Microsoft has a browser that runs in Metro mode on Windows ARM
that has access to rich APIs that they are denying to third-party Metro
browsers on Windows ARM. So, we are denied the ability to deliver any browser
on Classic, and we are denied the ability to build a competitive browser on
Metro.
"They're trying to make a new
version of their operating system which denies their users choice, competition,
and innovation," Anderson told CNET. "Making IE the only browser on
that platform is a complete return to the digital dark ages when there was only
one browser on the Windows platform."
Google permits other browsers on Android, and Mozilla
Firefox and Opera Mobile are among the browsers available. Opera Mini is
available on iOS devices, too, but it lacks its own browser engine. Instead, it
relies on Opera's servers to render Web pages then transmit a boiled-down
version to a person's phone.
