Windows RT will ban Firefox and Chrome, says Mozilla

According to Mozilla, Windows RT, a tablet-centric iteration of the upcoming Windows 8 OS, could be hitched exclusively to Internet Explorer. 

|
Reuters
A new version of the Windows 8 operating system could shut out browsers such as Firefox and Chrome, according to Mozilla.

Sometime later this year, Microsoft will release three version of its latest browser, Windows 8: plain old Windows 8 (for the average user), Windows 8 Pro (for committed geeks), and Windows RT (for use on ARM-based tablet computers). Windows RT, Microsoft has hinted, includes all the usual Microsoft standbys, including Word and Excel, but the whole ensemble will be controlled by a touch-centric interface.

Good news for tablet aficionados. 

And unfortunate news for Google and Mozilla.

According to Mozilla, the makers of Firefox, Microsoft is planning to allow only one fully-functioning browser on Windows RT: Microsoft's own Internet Explorer. Writing on the Mozilla blog, Harvey Anderson, general counsel for the company, lashed out at Microsoft for the slight, and called the alleged move "an unwelcome return to the digital dark ages where users and developers didn’t have browser choices." 

Anderson continues

Why does this matter to users? Quite simply because Windows on ARM – as currently designed – restricts user choice, reduces competition and chills innovation. By allowing only IE to perform the advanced functions of a modern Web browser, third-party browsers are effectively excluded from the platform. This matters for users of today’s tablets and tomorrow’s PCs. 

Of course, Firefox wouldn't be the only one excluded – Google's Chrome would be left out in the cold, too.

Unsurprisingly, Google has said in a statement that it "shares the concerns" raised by Mozilla. "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," reps told CNET

It's worth noting that Microsoft has not yet officially commented on the allegations from team Mozilla. Moreover, we're a few months out from the Windows 8 launch, so things could still change considerably. 

Follow us on Twitter @venturenaut for more tech news.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Windows RT will ban Firefox and Chrome, says Mozilla
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/Horizons/2012/0510/Windows-RT-will-ban-Firefox-and-Chrome-says-Mozilla
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe