EU: Windows RT Restrictions Are Fine

By | October 25, 2012 | 1 Comment

EU: Windows RT Restrictions Are FineMozilla responds.

Well, here is an interesting piece of news for you today, earlier this year, Mozilla has complained about the possible restrictions for web browsers running on the Windows RT, which wasn’t left unnoticed by the EU itself.

Now, according to a new report, European Union regulators gave Microsoft a green light and will not continue the investigation.

Joaquin Almunia, the European Commissioner for Competition, said, “We have looked at Windows RT, and on the basis of our investigation so far, there are no grounds to pursue further investigation on this particular issue. But we will closely monitor all the elements of the Windows software and how Microsoft complies to [its] commitments.”

While Google did not comment on the news story, Mozilla’s Harvey Anderson has issued a somewhat carefully worded comment:

“We hope the European Commission is correct in its conclusions and users are not deprived of browser choice in Window RT operating systems,”

Next stop: browser ballot screen.


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Vygantas is a former web designer whose projects are used by companies such as AMD, NVIDIA and departed Westood Studios. Being passionate about software, Vygantas began his journalism carrier back in 2007 when he founded FavBrowser.com. Having said that, he is also an adrenaline junkie who enjoys good books, fitness activities and Forex trading.

  • Przemysław Lib

    Browser ballot screen be damned! (PS WinRT sports Software Center == Ballot screen, so app that is doubling on that functionality would be real idiocy*)

    I WANT JIT JAVASCRIPT ENGINE FROM GOOGLE AND MOZILLA ON WinRT. (Or for that matter JIT for Python…, for LLVM, for …)
    (And plugins, multi threaded software, and wherever else MS banned)

    But I can NOT have such cause it relay on API present in WinRT but restricted only to IE…

    That is repetition of 90′ litigation when MS was obliged to give nodiscriminatory acces to API to 3rd party developers. Only thing that differ here is that WinRT do not have monopoly.

    * On WinXP, WinV, Win7 you can not install web browsers without using IE first. But on Win8 you will be able to. On WinRT you will not, because there will be no such 3rd party apps. At least not in the modern versions we prise today.

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