Three of the internet browser big hitters, Opera, Mozilla and Google have joined forces to take Microsoft head on, ever since Microsoft bundled its trademark Internet Explorer with the Windows operating systems. The complaint of all three browsers developers is that, Microsoft is taking undue advantage of being the leading OS supplier by manipulating the interoperability of the other three browsers in in its operating systems. Now, Google and Mozilla are all set to send separate appeals to the European antitrust regulators demanding that, Microsoft redesign the ballot screen it has designed for Windows, that provides the users the freedom of ignoring Internet Explorer, if they wish to do so.

The current proposed ballot screen, that was envisioned by Microsoft, will be providing the users with an option of choosing one of any five browsers and then use it as their default browser. The ballot screen will be shown in a HTML format inside the Internet Explorer. However, the Norwegian browser giant, Opera wants Microsoft to create a separate application that will show the list of browsers in a different program. Even if Microsoft insists on showing the option in the IE, then Opera wants IE to be in the full screen mode, i.e. without depicting the borders or the logo of the browser.

According to Hakon Wium Lie (Chief Technical Officer, Opera),

“In general, we’re very happy with Microsoft’s proposal because it gives consumers a choice of a better browser. But we have some issues about the ballot. From the screenshots we’ve seen, we don’t think it’s right that the ballot appears within IE. If you’re trying to provide a level playing field, you don’t want it to be seen as subservient to IE. You wouldn’t want a voting ballot that had a candidate’s logo on the upper left corner, would you?”

Via Computer World.