Browser Wars: Part III

Mein Gott, things just get worse and worse.

In compliance with EU regulators, Microsoft proposed a browser ballot screen (pushed through Windows Update to XP, Vista, and Win7), allowing users to choose which browser they want to install. This is one of the closest things Windows has to a mainstream program chooser program (Google Pack is kinda’ close, but not quite the same thing). It’s not perfect, but Microsoft is definitely moving towards something that’s fair, maintainable, and easy to use.

Microsoft's Browser Ballot Proposal

The official document outlining this ballot can be found here (DOC file). Here are some highlights for you:

• Windows Internet Explorer Bundling
  • OEMs have the right to turn on or off Internet Explorer and install their own browsers, without any retaliation from Microsoft or “special agreements” (i.e. money to favor IE).
  • Microsoft will still be able to update certain components of IE (e.g. security, Trident renderer), but IE (e.g. the browser frame, menus) will not get pushed.

• The Ballot Screen
  • Pushed through Windows Update as a high-priority update for both WinXP and Vista.
  • Automatically included in Win7, if everyone can agree on time. Otherwise, through Windows Update. Every Windows after Win7 will have have it automatically included.
  • Takes the most recent versions of the top 10 browsers with more than 0.5% market share. That’s effectively IE8, Firefox 3, Safari 4, Chrome 2, and Opera 9.
  • Each browser shown horizontally will feature a small descriptive blurb, an install link, and an info link. Links go to vendors’ pages.
  • Microsoft will not allow download links of browsers that are bundled with things like toolbars and other piggybackware. Defunct browsers or Trident-dependent are also not supported (no lolifox, no Maxthon).
  • Microsoft won’t design it so that it’ll favor any one browser over another (applies to all vendors).
  • IT shops can still disable the ballot screen if they think it’s a pain in the ass.

Now, this is where all the nitpicking comes in.

You Go To The Opera To See Drama and Hear People Scream At Each Other Sing Really Loudly

Microsoft gave people an inch (actually, much more than inch compared to other OSes), and Opera demands a mile. While generally happy with the unprecedented proposal, they still had complaints. They’re chief complaint?

IE’s logo against their’s.

For Pete’s sake, you saying that someone’s logo is too ubiquitous with the Internet? Maybe it’s because people are visual learners, don’t care about text, and look for something pretty. You have to admit, the IE logo isn’t too shabby, but if your logo (with name) doesn’t cut it, who’s fault is that? Companies spend millions of dollars into logos and brand images, equity that is very real on someone’s balance sheet.

The logo isn’t a business tactic. It’s actually part of the business.

And, I don’t know about you, but Opera’s red logo is rather striking compared to IE’s blue logo  . Red has always been a stronger color. That said, IE’s is just plain prettier. If Opera’s logo isn’t cutting it, the onus is on Opera to revamp their logo, not IE. If you ask me, it could use something to make it look fuller.

“We’re not sure of logos. The blue ‘e’ has become so associated with the Internet in general, due to the bundling with Windows. We think using the blue ‘e’ might not be such a good idea.”

To me, it sounds more like,

“We’re not sure of logos. The blue ‘e’ looks more like a blue globe called the Earth in general, due to the bundling with the highly graphical Windows OS. Because it looks better than our red ‘O’, we think using the blue ‘e’ might make people choose the prettier option.”

Congratulations, you’ve discovered the core of the problem: stupid users distracted by shiny pretty things. Opera and the EU obviously don’t think people should become computer literate, they just want you to never choose Microsoft have a choice in what you run.

Chrome released, Mozilla frowns. Polls show Mozilla not in first place, Mozilla frowns. I’m hungry, Mozilla frowns.

Mozilla decides that Microsoft is still not doing enough. Or rather, they haven’t bothered to do any research or care about its users, potential and otherwise.

In the Mozilla VP’s blog, Harvey Anderson writes, “Not offering updates through Windows Update to an off-switched IE is a good start.  But most users won’t have IE turned off, even if they have other browsers as their default.”

So, is he saying that he’d rather have an unpatched Internet Explorer running around? I tend to enter my house through the garage door rather than the front door; it’s just easier considering my routine. If I forget to lock my front door, does that mean it should never get locked if my (non-existent in real life) housekeeper finds it unlocked? Or if the lock is broken?

I mean, I can just not have a door there. But if I want to use that door, I should be able to, yes?

In less metaphorical terms, hell yes I want Microsoft to update my IE. I barely ever use that browser. However, Windows Update aside, I do use it and don’t want to uninstall it: as a web developer, it’s important for me to have cross-browser compatibility. So I irregularly need to use IE, Firefox, Chrome, and Opera (Safari from my Mac) so that my visitors will have the best experience I can offer.

Blah blah blah, I’m a Mozilla Executive (in other words, a dinosaur), Hear Me Roar…

Anderson also goes on about tie-ins to Microsoft apps, which is more of a problem with developers (that are not necessarily Microsoft employees) using stupidass code than Windows itself. If he did the research instead of mindlessly typing on his computer, pretending to know about computers (I guess he’s just an executive, just like people in Microsoft), he’d know that the “default browser” thing has been working quite well for the past year or so. Way before his blog post or the ballot thing.

Anderson talks about OEM policy towards the ballot screen. If OEMs (which are basically have highly specialized IT shops, and the first-in-line) can easily disable IE8, and IT can easily disable the ballot screen, how can you not figure out that OEMs can disable the ballot screen if they want to? Group Policy, my dear.

Oh, that’s right. Firefox has crap Enterprise and IT support, so it should make sense that an executive who’s company refuses to publish easily deployable MSI packages of Firefox that can be installed across hundreds of company computers simultaneously doesn’t know shit about real world practices. Now that’s stupid.

He also complains about people downloading but not installing Firefox, which is why the ballot screen should automatically install it. INSTAFAIL. That’s a security disaster waiting to happen, and he doesn’t even realize that he hasn’t packaged Firefox to do that. I don’t think FrontMotion is exactly an arm of Mozilla (it’s a MS Certified Partner), and it’s not that hard to shape an MSI around an installer.

Maybe he doesn’t realize that some people install Firefox multiple times. A billion downloads should equate to a billion users, yes? What? File sharing? Updates? Reformats? Dual-booting? Auto-downloaders? I can’t hear you.

So what is this? Because they now have momentum, the underdogs now have license to be stupid? If you want in on the game, play the game.

Why The Hell Do You Write Such Long Posts

Because trying to be witty in every single sentence and creating thought-terminating memes, cliches, and other shorter but inaccurate devices is kinda’ stupid. Sorry, I’m a bit old-school.

Perhaps my English teachers would be proud. Or maybe they aren’t.

Windows 7 Versions and Ignorance

I was reading a post on ZDNet about Windows 7 annoyances, a post written by a blogger I generally respect as keeping in touch with computing technology. This time, however, I couldn’t stop but rage at his inability (I hesitate to use the word incompetence, but it gets close to it) to figure out the Windows 7 editions, as he complains about how they’re are too many editions. For Pete’s sake, has he not paid attention to anything that’s written?

Windows 7 Editions Breakdown

Most people will have only two editions to consider: Home Premium or Ultimate.

Home Premium has everything a typical consumer will want.

If you want to join your Win7 computer to your Windows Active Directory domain or have the ability to host a terminal services session (or if you even know what I’m talking about), you are not a “typical consumer.” You are a power user, essentially a pro computer user. So, get your butt over to the Professional line.

Businesses and professionals will really only have two editions to consider: Professional or Ultimate.

Professional has pretty much everything a typical business employee or professional needs to get his work done (and then some). It’s Home Premium + Pro Tools. The only people buying this are IT departments and people who already know what they’re looking for.

So what’s Ultimate? Ultimate =  Home Premium + Professional + Extra Stuff That 99% of People Don’t Use. Things like BitLocker, booting virtual hard disks, and BranchCaching. If you know what those things are and will want to use them, good for you. You’re not a typical user.

Upgrade From Vista

This one’s even easier, yet people still screwed it up. Even Microsoft screwed it up! ZDnet’s Ed Bott got it right with this simpler chart breakdown. And the simple guidelines that summarize it. Say it out loud with me.

If you have Vista Home Starter or Premium (the green box), you can upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium (the green box).

If you have Vista Business (the blue box), you can upgrade to Windows 7 Professional (the blue box).

Everyone (green or blue), can upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate (the black box). Why? Because black goes with everything. Duh.

Everyone else has to basically start all over and install Windows 7 from scratch. Considering most people are either XP holdouts or power users who hated Vista’s bloat (which I find quite understandable, on both counts), this is quite a good thing. See the breakdown above to see which one you should have (as opposed to the one you just want because it’s more expensive/is blue/is black/has shiny gadgets).

If you have a good computer, how about setting up a dual-boot so you can have your XP and Win7? If you have a bad computer, what the hell are you doing? If you want Win7, go buy a new computer that comes with it.

Editions That Don’t Matter

Windows 7 Starter: If you’re buying a crap PC, this is what you’re getting. Complain all you want about not having Media Centers and Remote Desktop. Your computer is honestly horrible enough that its better that you don’t have it. You’re a paper airplane trying to be a Boeing 747. Stop dreaming, grow up, and get a better PC.

Windows 7 Basic: If you live in the third-world (or in a place that’d rather pirate Windows than buy it), you get this. If you have enough money to get a rig that’ll run something better, you either have enough money buy a better Windows version or the know-how to download one.

Windows 7 Enterprise: For all intents and purposes, Enterprise = Ultimate, available only to those who’ve sold their souls to had special business ties with Microsoft. Meaning, you have an IT department that will do this for you, so that you don’t have to. Don’t have an IT department? Enterprise is not for you, then.

Caveats

There’s caveats in everything.

32-bit vs. 64-bit: Does your car run diesel or unleaded? If you don’t know, find someone who can find out. With that out of the way…

32-bit Editions vs. 64-bit Editions: If you’re switching from diesel to unleaded (or vice versa), your car’s engine needs a complete overhaul. Likewise, if you’re switching from 32-bit to 64-bit (or vice versa), your computer needs a complete overhaul; you’ll need to install Windows 7 from scratch.

Spoiled Brats

Nowadays, I’m thinking so many people are “spoiled” with intelligence and know-how that they lose touch with “lesser” people and concepts. Windows 7, health care reform, anime, the global financial meltdown, the personal finance, technology in general.

Home means Home. Professional means Professional (Pro). Ultimate means everything, including horse radish, vegetarian chili, and boisonberry wasabi salsa. I mean, if you like that sort of stuff…

There are no death panels. Read the damn bill. Insurance companies get kickbacks and treat you like crap. Shit hits the fan, and they scramble for good public relations. Medicare and Medicaid is government run, as is Congress’s and the U.S. military’s health care. What’s wrong with a public option, competition from the public sector? It’s like having private workers (real estate, restaurants) and government employees (transit, police, fire department, military).

The recession hits everyone badly, including anime production companies. Yet, some people will look at old anime and feel nostalgia, glossing over the bad stuff and calling it either camp (So Bad It’s Good) or indicative of a tight budget. And you say new anime production can’t have tight budgets or sloppy animation? Double standard. You’re acting like a bunch of spoiled ADHD nostalgiafags who demand instead of appreciate. You have a large choice of anime to watch; anime isn’t a right, it’s just a friggin’ show. Show me how an anime should be done, and I will guarantee you that everyone else will laugh at you and tell you how stupid your version is. You’re not a genius, you’re not a pundit. You’re an audience. If you don’t like it, exercise your actual rights and watch something else. Viewership ratings are your form of voting, ya’ know.

People are so willing to show off their (supposed) wealth by living above their means. This makes them use credit cards, in the bad way. They take out a second loan against their house. They buy luxury cars to show off to friends. They invest in risky stocks. They day trade. They pretend their smarter. They ignore bills. Screw you all for making the rest of us suffer. Go die in a fire.

People like the first blogger I mentioned have their head so high up in technology and “knowing” stuff that they don’t bother to learn things anymore. I’m betting Adrian Kingsley-Hughes knows more about technology than I do in general, but for God’s sake, he’s acting like a whining kid that complains that Microsoft’s falafels, eggrolls, and mini-chicken sandwich are making a mess of his ideal menu: the ultimate deluxe triple stacker cheeseburger. Maybe you can eat it all and enjoy all the extra condiments, but some people don’t like stupidass one-item menus that charge them for things they don’t want. Or need. Or can’t even use. Or can’t afford.

That’s the beginning of the slippery slope that ends with Mac fanatics and monopolies.

Endless Digital Waltz

The major software and computer companies always seem to be going at it, in some way or another. Maybe its just me, someone who’s been become fairly apathetic about the political process; in some way, I think I’ve become fairly apathetic about politics in the digital realm. Windows asserts smug dominance whilst its foundation is eroding. Mac blasts PC with baseless claims and smug elitism. Slashdot condemns everything but Linux and FOSS. Google continues to dominante, slips in certain places, gains in others.

Oh, why can’t we all just get along?

In any case, there are a few things that have been on my mind.

Google Chrome

Despite its initial success, Chrome is starting to lose some of its shine. The way I see the problem is that Google really isn’t trying to promote Chrome in any way. Being a beta product, it’s been noted there are still quite a few things that it can work on. Yes, they fixed some bug. Yes, they changed their EULA. And that’s about it.

Unfortunately for Google, not even commenting much on its new browser offering, let alone releasing more beta builds, is pretty much sentencing the software to obscurity. The browser market is very cutthroat; IE still dominates the market, Firefox is determined to keep its hard-earned user base, Safari… is just Safari, and Opera still struggles with desktop significance (though apparently it does well in the mobile market, and I guess the Wii as well).

My pitiful recommendation to Google? Keep it a hot topic. Have a blog where you keep us updated on what you’re working on, or highlighting upcoming features. Give us more builds of Chrome (it’s a beta, of course it’ll still have bugs and crashes).

In other words, don’t leave your user base hanging.

And fix things up so that I can view streaming video on Flash-heavy sites without it wanting my computer to explode. Venturing into Nico Nico Douga is always a trial with Chrome, even with such a simple action as scrolling the webpage whilst the video is loading.

Search – Google Desktop Search vs. Windows Desktop Search

Back in the day, I was a very avid fan of Google Desktop Search. The ability to harness the power of Google to search your own information was just incredible. Incredible enough that even Microsoft decided to release its own desktop engine, and have it embedded into Windows Vista (as simply Windows Search).

Unfortunately, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with GDS. The key to it for me was the quick aggregation of information whilst not utterly destroying my modest computer (a 2.00 GHz Intel P4 Northwood, 512MB DDR, Windows XP, 80GB HDD at 5400 RPM). While it doesn’t quite destroy it, GDS does interfere with normal day-to-day operations.

One of my greatest complaints about it was the fact that I couldn’t control the times when to index, and when not to. I’m all for automation, because the vast majority of users could benefit from it. I am most definitely a power user, though, so I have the know-how and drive to tweak my settings to best suit my needs. Microsoft is easily able to have a “Index Now” button ALONGSIDE the normal automated approach. Why can’t Google? A little more user empowerment for those who want to tinker, and nothing else changes for the non-technical users.

The other great complaint I had about it is the general slowing of performance that GDS had. For me, first and foremost, GDS is a digital search appliance. It must fulfill that function, and it must do it well. Performance is key to search. Yet, Google has this mind-boggling philosophy that GDS should be Widget Central. Oh, my, Lord. Aside from aggregation of multiple data sources, why should resource-using widgets become such a huge focus by Google? Not to be presumptuous, but let developers develop for it, while you (Google) work on improving the information platform itself.

For the time being, I’ve been using Windows Desktop Search, as the performance and indexing issues for GDS were just too aggravating. WDS does what it does: it searches and indexes, it tells me about its progress without trying to open a whole browser window, and it lets me retrieve information fast and easily. In some ways, I find it better (right-click context is better, better indexing controls, less intusiveness and lag). In some ways, not as good (no CTRL, CTRL combination to start a search like GDS, searches take a little longer), but it gets the job done without messing with my computer much. Which is exactly what I’m looking for.

Of course, after I say all this, I realize there’s a relatively new GDS version that focuses on performance.

I hate my timing.

Terramaria Woes

My Mac likes and doesn’t like me. Well, I guess it’s mainly Safari. And iPhoto. iTunes is a bit tsundere to me. But whatever.

I’m inclined to think that the horrid crashes I’ve been getting on the Mac has to do with the graphics card, which is this old 32MB AGP artifact. I do have a 64MB nVidia GeForce4 MX440 sitting in a closet that I’ve been meaning to swap in.

The thing that bothers me is that the crashes only happen whenever I’m using Safari. Not only am I using the most updated version of it, but I’m also exclusively reading text when I’m using it: Wikipedia, some simple webpages of mine, and some PBwikis that I add content to. I would be reading several blocks of text on the screen only to find I can’t scroll the page or move the mouse cursor. Bleh.

I’d love to install Firefox or Opera as a replacement, but that defeats the purpose of learning tips and tricks with Safari. Moo.

Also, according to arai, he owns the patent on saying “moo.” I guess I owe him ten bucks now… damn.

Victoria Comeback

I’ve been itching to reinstall Windows Vista again, because I’m at least open-minded enough to actually use it effectively. With more and more people forced to use it, though, it’s been kinda’ lonely. Yet, I’m still apprehensive about putting it back on my machine.

It’s not so much that I hate Vista or hate using it (I don’t). It’s just going to be a real pain in the rear creating a quad-boot rig. XP Professional, Server 2003, Solaris 10, and Vista.

Not fun, for completely different reasons.

Browser Wars, Part II

So, it seems like Google Chrome caused quite a stir from all sorts of people. The anti-IE8, taking market away from Firefox, paving the way for the Internet as a Google platform, privacy advocates scared of the EULA, speed tests, compliance tests.

Me? I’m just glad I’ve got a WebKit engine to test my stuff against, since I wouldn’t be caught dead with Safari again.

Through some quick and informal tests, this is what I’ve found out.

Loading Speed

Chrome is clearly a speed demon now; it loads up faster than Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2, Firefox 3.0.1, and Opera 9.52. Page rendering seems a lot faster, but I didn’t bother to test that part. For that, you’ve got five million more technical tests that do things far better than I can.

Next up in loading speed is IE, though I’m sure part of it is because IE integrates itself with Windows a bit. Not that I really mind or care, because I don’t really care if a browser is standalone or not.

Just behind IE is Opera, which has always been a fast loader and well-featured. Honestly, why don’t more people use Opera?

And, of course, dead-last is Firefox, which has a several second startup for me. And that’s with all my add-ons disabled.

(Initial) Memory Usage

For this test, I loaded up a Google search and two advertisement-heavy blogs into separate tabs.

Opera seems to have the smallest memory footprint of the two. It kept to around 64 megs of memory and just a little less than Firefox. I was a bit surprised. After a period of non-use, it would drop to 43 megs or so, though it seemed to go up again after a page loaded.

Firefox was about the same as Opera, and even exhibited the same behavior. It had slightly larger footprint than Opera, but this was on the order of a few kilobytes: not significant. Of course, Firefox is notorious for memory leak problems, and I didn’t want to sit around for it to build up problems.

Chrome came in next at about 71 megs. This probably has to do with the whole “separate process” thing that is touted around.

IE came in last at 79 megs. Again, this probably has to do with the whole “separate process” thing, but it seems like it’s just a bit heavier than it should, as IE integrates partly with Windows.

Acid3 Tests

Acid Tests are some accepted web standards test to see if a browser renders things as it should. It seems a bit arbitrary, but at least it’s a quick test.

Coming in dead last was IE8, which flopped with a horrible score of 12/100. As a browser thats being held up as a model of standards-compliance, I’m rather disappointed.

Next was Firefox 3, which scored an impressive 71/100 when compared to IE8. Of course, when the top two browsers in the world don’t at least score a “B,” I get a little worried.

Chrome ranks in at 79/100. Not bad for a version 1.0 browser, but there’s definitely more work to be done, especially since several sites I go to have very weird and awkward formatting errors that make some tasks impossible.

Coming in first place is Opera, at 84/100. Not that I’m too surprised; Opera has always been very standards-compliant, and I constantly use it in tests for my own web development.

Conclusion

And that’s that. Opera seems to have aged rather well, Firefox still has problems with memory and loading speed, IE still fails at rendering, and Chrome is… well… Chrome. A mixed bag here and there, but I think it’s a welcome addition to the browser ecosystem.

Up Next: The Next Round in the Browser Wars!

While I don’t think it’s anywhere as violent as Netscape Navigator vs. Internet Explorer (back then I sided with Netscape… and was sad when they lost), but I do think that the current war is ever as important. Today, the players are primarily Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox, with some other minor browsers desperately jumping up and down for attention.

Opera 9.5 came out Thursday, and I’m glad there’s a marked improvement over the beta I tried out before. While the UI wasn’t particularly ugly in previous releases, it really wasn’t all that great once you got down to using it. Tabs looked more like buttons instead of… well… tabs. It kinda’ reminded me of an Apple product redesigned by Linux programmers to target Windows users. In other words, kinda’ all over the place. But whatever.

Unfortunately, it seems to still have some kinks in it. One particularly strange and annoying one is that, even as I write this post, Opera doesn’t know how to correctly parse me writing a new paragraph. If I hit ENTER after a paragraph, guess what? It adds a line above it! Go to add a line above the paragraph, and you get a line below it! Oh fun fun. I wonder if Opera will ever go above 1% market share.

Safari 4 is due out, with a preview already available. As a guy who’s actually concerned about having a standards-compliant browser (with that the caveat that the standards should actually be practical), I should download it and give it a try. Honestly, though, I never really like Safari. Or rather, I never really liked its interface and skin. I don’t know about you, but that brushed metal covering makes me think I should be piloting a ‘Mech instead of surfing the Internet. It just seems to utterly clash with the smooth colors that dominate webpages and OS themes.

To me, the only reasons people use Safari is 1.) they use Macs, and to use anything else would get you ostracized by the Church of Steve Jobs, 2.) web developers were unknowingly baited into testing against another browser once Safari was released for Windows, and 3.) it’s stuck on their iPhone. But whatever. Internet Explorer 8 and its super-standards mode is still in development. Of course, being a product from Microsoft, it receives a lot of flak no matter what direction it goes in. I think breaking existing website that don’t conform to standards is a good thing, even if IE was partly responsible for it. IE helped grow a dynamic Internet, whether people like to admit it or not, and if the will of the people is to finally move towards standards compliance, Microsoft should be commended for doing the right thing even though they’ll lose a lot of their supporters. Plus, I think a lot of web developers are real idiots, anyway.

Speaking of idiots, I do hope the IE developers do something to the UI. Design by committee was obviously a huge mistake. Having your the File menu BELOW your address bar kinda’ ruins the whole Windows look-and-feel, and the buttons are just a huge mess of I-don’t-care-about-that-feature and what-the-heck-is-that. It’ll be a bad, bad day if things start looking like a universal remote control.

For the record, I use IE6. Because I find IE7 incredibly annoying and has some stupid bug that plants a huge IE icon on top of other file icons whenever I go browse a data CD or DVD of mine. Don’t you dare mess with my file browsing.

And then, good ol’ Firefox 3 is set to arrive on the 17th, trying to make a world record for downloads or something. Not that I particularly care, because I’d rather get a copy free of stupid bugs (like the one in Opera) that will get patched a couple days from release. In any case, the speed improvements will be a very welcome change, along with the host of other neat things that I’ve already forgotten about since I first used the beta. Firefox, especially if loaded with add-ons that I commonly use, is a huge resource hog, if you haven’t noticed (or rather, if you’ve been living under a rock).

And, I should have gotten to this earlier, but the main big political issue nowadays for browsers is standards-compliance. If all things go as planned, pretty much all four of those browsers will be pretty darn standards-compliant, to the point that probably the average user (e.g. not me) will probably be unable to pick out any difference.

Speaking of standards-compliance, I decided to pick up Solaris 10 to use as an alternative OS, seeing as it’s about the only free option that’s Single UNIX Specification 03 compliant. I felt like choosing UNIX over Linux because 1.) Linux fanboys irritate me as much as Apple fanboys, 2.) I’ve better prior knowledge of UNIX than Linux, 3.) I care about standards, 4.) I generally like Sun Microsystems, 5.) I was reminded of NoodleKnight and his ol’ SPARCstation that I was impressed with, and 6.) I care a lot more abut “free software” than “open source software.” As long as it’s doing good, I honestly don’t care how it was made.

For the record, Solaris 10 crashed during installation. These OSes all just hate me, it seems.

Currently, it’s trying to boot for the first time. Ooo, yay. Login. I guess it’s time to hammer out some of the weird bugs, see if WinXP is still working, and create a non-root user.