Opera is my favorite web browser. Whenever I use IE, Firefox… or even Safari, I notice how much I truly love using Opera. Its fast, stable, but most importantly I love the controls. Sure you customize Firefox to do many of the same things, but while I can make many arguments as to why Firefox can be as good as Opera, I can make none as to why its better for my uses.

Perhaps it is a right of passage for any aspiring software company, but according to Engadget, Opera has filed suit against Microsoft in the European Union for antitrust violations. They claim that because the big M packages Internet Explorer with Windows, that they are engaging in anti-competitive practices. Their logic, is that because IE enders pages in its own “special” way that is not standards compliant, and because it holds the majority of market share, web designers cater their page designs to IE and not to industry standards.

Their solution is that either Microsoft stops including Internet Explorer in Windows, or they include other browsers like Opera, Firefox, or whatever.

What pile of crap. Think about what they are actually proposing. Either they want you to buy computers or operating systems that do not allow you to browse the internet upon their arrival… you know… to do things like download other software. OR, they will open the door to people bitching that their software, that is in the same category as a program that is installed as Windows, should be included with every Windows copy. Can we say bloatware?

So yeah, the consumers either get shafted, or we get shafted.

Quit your bitching Opera and spend the money you are wasting on lawyers on some marketing, advertising, or maybe invent some features to allow your browser to emulate IE if necessary for users.

-The Digital Kitty

Here is the engadget link.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/13/opera-files-eu-antitrust-suit-against-microsoft-for-bundling-ie/