Europe wants easy default browser selection screens. Mozilla is already sounding the alarm on dirty tricks

HipPriest@kbin.social to Technology@lemmy.world – 940 points –
Europe wants easy default browser selection screens. Mozilla is already sounding the alarm on dirty tricks
theregister.com

Can you blame it?

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Didn’t Windows used to have a browser selection screen already? What happened?

If you have use the one in windows 10/11 its a bit of a nightmare. You have to manually change the default browser for all file types from edge to your new browser. And there are about 20 options you have to manually change over.

Edge does a lot of things to annoy me on Windows, but this is not one. I do not think I had to change the default browser for every file type. Also the normal user would never notice this problem, as they rarely open HTML files directly.

In 11 changing the default browser does not change all the filetypes the broswer can open. Setting an alternate browser as the default only sets the new browser to open a few filetypes. Its why I see confused illiterates at my workplace with Chrome, Adobe, and Edge open.

Wow dude that's unnecessary.

What browser do you suggest for illustrator files? You photoshop directly in firefox? Adobe applications are a necessary evil for some people, and multiple browsers can be handy for sandboxing or separating user profiles, especially on public machines. People with multiple applications open aren't "confused illiterates" jfc. They just use their computers differently from you.

Rude.

You're allowed to be a little bit mean on the internet.

Particularly when the most virulent word used was "illiterate"

I find "Rude." pretty virulent myself.

The latest trick is they ignore the default choice completely and open all links in Outlook in edge anyhow, also they are sending notifications saying to use edge or get less battery time.

I'm pretty sure that is no longer the case.

I haven't had any trouble switching my default browser around recently, at least.

That said, they still tried and showed the lows they're willing to stoop to.

I installed a brand new Windows 11 on Friday and it's still the case.

You can change the default browser with two clicks, but if you go to the default file type associations you'll find a ton of shit still associated with edge, so that Windows can force-open it if you dare to click on anything remotely link-esque anywhere in the Windows Explorer.

Edge is ingrained into the OS like a virus that launches itself all the bloody time.

To add to that, even once you have a different browser fully set as default, links within Windows itself (Search, Weather, etc.) still open with Edge

This no longer happens in the latest Insider Dev/Canary builds to an extent, but I make the point anyway to show how anti consumer Microsoft truly is.

Yeah just did a fresh install and once I installed Waterfox I just had to click a single button when prompted.

However this was Tiny11 so I am unsure if that applies equally to normal Win11.

I haven't used Windows since XP, but I'm interested in how that works. Do you have any link about this?

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It was made as result of an EU settlement that only lasted about 5 years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BrowserChoice.eu

I have absolutely no idea why they figured 5 years would be good enough.

Obviously, the multinational billion dollar company would see the error of their ways in that period of time

The idea is it gives enough time for competition to establish and then everyone completes on an even footing without fettering the original monopoly after it's no longer a monopoly in that space... arguably it worked as Chrome took over but all that's happened it it made a new monopoly 🤷🏻‍♂️

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