Microsoft has not seen a lot of success in the browser market, especially due to the reason that Internet Explorer was one of the most widely ridiculed browsers out there for a really long time. After switching to Chromium, Microsoft managed to make its new browser Edge compatible with a wide range of platforms, but the methods that its using to make Windows users stick to Edge are coming under fire.
The CEO of the open source browser Vivaldi, Jon von Tetzchner, has been particularly vocal about this, saying that Microsoft’s attempts are “desperate”. He pointed to the Microsoft Rewards program, saying that this was tantamount to the company paying its users to use their own browser instead of allowing the free market to decide. Microsoft is so intent on preventing Windows users from using any other browser at all that it seems to be using underhanded tactics instead of actually trying to deliver a strong product.
Microsoft is by far the most dominant player in the world of operating systems, and it is not afraid to use this influence to prevent other browsers from maintaining any kind of foothold at all. Vivaldi’s CEO wrote that this was an anti-competitive way of doing things and that it’s something that the US Department of Justice should ideally be looking at even though it seems to be more focused on Google, Facebook and Apple right now.
One thing that should be noted is that Vivaldi is not exactly a major browser, and its CEO stands to gain from criticizing Microsoft in this regard. However, the bulk of what he is saying does appear to hold up, especially when you consider the anti-competitive practices that the company has historically been engaging in ever since it was under the leadership of its founder Bill Gates all in all.
Read next: Android games will soon be available on Windows by 2022, through Google
The CEO of the open source browser Vivaldi, Jon von Tetzchner, has been particularly vocal about this, saying that Microsoft’s attempts are “desperate”. He pointed to the Microsoft Rewards program, saying that this was tantamount to the company paying its users to use their own browser instead of allowing the free market to decide. Microsoft is so intent on preventing Windows users from using any other browser at all that it seems to be using underhanded tactics instead of actually trying to deliver a strong product.
Microsoft is by far the most dominant player in the world of operating systems, and it is not afraid to use this influence to prevent other browsers from maintaining any kind of foothold at all. Vivaldi’s CEO wrote that this was an anti-competitive way of doing things and that it’s something that the US Department of Justice should ideally be looking at even though it seems to be more focused on Google, Facebook and Apple right now.
One thing that should be noted is that Vivaldi is not exactly a major browser, and its CEO stands to gain from criticizing Microsoft in this regard. However, the bulk of what he is saying does appear to hold up, especially when you consider the anti-competitive practices that the company has historically been engaging in ever since it was under the leadership of its founder Bill Gates all in all.
Read next: Android games will soon be available on Windows by 2022, through Google