After facing pressure from Mozilla and Google for limiting access to Windows RT application programming interfaces (API's), the European Union antitrust agency has charged Microsoft for not displaying a mandated browser choice screen, but will not require the software giant to open its operating system to competing browsers.
Director of Firefox Asa Dotzler asserts that Mozilla "could build a beautiful Firefox that looked really nice on Metro, but Firefox would be so crippled in terms of power and speed that it's probably not worth it to even bother." Windows RT is a modified version of Windows 8 tailored for tablets.
Google noted that they "share the concerns Mozilla raised," according to a Computer World report.
The European Union's head antitrust official Joaquin Almunia stated, "We have looked at Windows RT, and on the basis of our investigation so far, there are no grounds to further pursue investigation on this particular issue."
He adds, "But we will closely monitor all the elements of the Windows software and how Microsoft complies to [its] commitments."
Almunia stipulated that Microsoft should not impose warning windows or confirmations that try to prevent users from switching browsers, and that the Internet Explorer icon should be "unpinned from the Start screen" when a new default is set.
Microsoft responded to the ruling with the following statement: "After discussions with the Commission, we are changing some aspects of the way the Browser Choice Screen works on Windows 8 and will have those changes implemented when Windows 8 launches later this week,"
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