This article was published on October 16, 2009

Microsoft Lets Safari Beat FireFox in Europe, FireFox Furious


Microsoft Lets Safari Beat FireFox in Europe, FireFox Furious

What browser do you use in Windows? Apparently if you live in Europe, the answer is a resounding Safari. That is right folks, in the great ballot poll, Firefox lost out to the lowly webkit-based Safari.

Apple must be so proud, their baby is still not a great browser, but is all the rage.

Given the long term discomfort of the EU about the inclusion of Internet Explorer, notwithstanding their silence of the imperialism of Notepad, Microsoft has offered to include at the launch of Windows to provide options. When a user first fires up Windows, they will get to select a browser to install.

Here comes the problem, the browsers will be listed alphabetically. When you test the user selections, the votes come in: IE, Safari, Chrome, Firefox, and then Opera. This is a horror show for Firefox, a great bump for Chrome and Safari, and a free boost for the oft ignored Opera.

Problem is, when you put FireFox that far down on the list, it loses to Safari. Guess who is hating the EU tonight all of a sudden? Don’t expect this to stick.

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