Microsoft tweaks browser ballot code

Microsoft's latest tweak to its browser ballot screen seems to have fixed a key programming flaw.

In response to antitrust concerns by European regulators, the company recently unveiled its browser ballot page to give European users a choice of browsers to install. But the company was criticized for using sloppy code that didn't adequately randomize the order in which each browser's icon and link displays.

The algorithm used is supposed to change the order of the browsers from left to right each time the page opens. That change occurred, but apparently not randomly enough. The code often put rival browsers at the start of the list and frequently kept Internet Explorer to the far right.

Microsoft's browser ballot page

(Credit: Microsoft)

Following public comments on the programming flaw, Microsoft fixed the glitch. In a statement released this week, Kevin Kutz, director of public affairs for Microsoft, said: "We can confirm that we made a change to the random icon order algorithm in the browser choice screen for Europe. We are confident the algorithm change will be an improvement. As always, we are grateful for the feedback we get from developers, and we thank those who commented on the topic and suggested changes."

The programming flaw was initially revealed the final week of February by a Slovakian tech site called DSL.sk (Google Translate English version). Rob Weir, an IBM software architect, picked up on the story and discussed the details on his blog page. Weir blamed the problem on a sloppy algorithm and expressed astonishment that the flaw made it out the door before Microsoft caught it.

Over the weekend, Weir updated his blog to confirm that Microsoft has since tweaked the algorithm, and that the browser ballot page is properly randomizing the order.

Following a formal complaint from Opera in 2007, the EU opened an investigation, saying it believed that bundling Internet Explorer with Windows violated the region's antitrust laws. After first proposing to release new versions of Windows without any browser in Europe, Microsoft eventually settled on the ballot screen as a compromise in an aim to satisfy regulators' concerns. The company's first attempt was met with criticism by rival browser makers who faulted the screen as too confusing and still giving IE the upper hand. The second attempt finally met with favor from the EU, which gave Microsoft the go-ahead to start using the ballot.

With or without flaws in its programming, the screen is already providing a boost in business to rival browsers.

Mozilla CEO John Lilly told The New York Times over the weekend that more than 50,000 downloads of Firefox have already taken place through direct links from the ballot screen. Opera has also seen a surge in downloads, according to Opera Software's Chief Strategy Officer Rolf Assev. "Since the browser choice screen rollout, Opera downloads have more than tripled in major European countries such as Belgium, France, Spain, Poland and the U.K.," said Assev.

The ballot screen is also giving more obscure browsers a chance for recognition. In addition to displaying icons for the five major browsers, the screen offers up some real estate to Avant Browser, K-Meleon, Flock, Maxthon, Sleipnir, GreenBrowser, and FlashPeak. However, a few of these lesser-known rivals are unhappy over their placement on the screen and have complained to the EC.

Due to the width of the screen, just IE, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Opera are visible at first glance. Only after scrolling to the right can people view the other six browsers in the list. If these more obscure companies have a case, Microsoft may need to tweak its ballot a bit further.

[moviegeek65]

If you can't use a search engine to find another browser then you shouldn't be online.

[jedmmj11]

whatbrowser.org (Google own version of the ballot?)

[markosph]

The line under Firefox is free, aren't all browsers free?

[fudbuster77]

The text below the icons is provided by the browser maker, not Microsoft. That's their blurb area to convince you to choose them over any others.

[ptkdude--2008]

All the browsers shown in the screenshot are free. I think it's hilarious that Mozilla was the only one smart enough to say their browser is free. Your average consumer will assume that there is a charge for all the other ones. OK, you're average AMERICAN consumer will think that.

[codynews]

ptk: Your (not "you're") average American consumer doesn't have to deal with this stupid browser ballot screen. That's something the idiot EU come up with.

You fail. Try again.

[ClarkWells]

It is mind boggling to me that they have had to do this. The little browser people are once again, like the rest of the world, trying to get someone to give them a hand out (in this case it comes in the form of Microsoft giving them some face time that the little browser company couldn't get by themselves... Shameful)

Of course Microsoft should put their OWN browser, on their OWN operating system. What browser does OSX come with?

[fudbuster77]

Mine has Firefox and Chrome on it. :)

I know it came preinstalled with Safari, but that only lasted long enough for me to get Firefox on it and then it was off to oblivion for Safari (okay, so I just hid the icon since you can't actually delete Safari without causing some serious OS issues later, but the effect is the same).

[KevinK]

This page is totally unreadable in IE7 What a lousy choice of background and text colors.

[KevinK]

Surely if the display of browser choices is truly random then any one of the available browser choices has an equal probability of appearing in the top five spots? I'm confused.

[notovny]

Without special hardware, computers don't do truly random. Given the exact same inputs to their random number generators, they spit out the exact same sequence of random numbers with each launch. And if you pick a bad pseudorandom number generating algorithm, the results may not be sufficiently close to true randomness for your desired purpose.

[Mr. Dee]

What the f**k do these other browser developers want Microsoft to do? Its like they want Microsoft bundle their crappy competitor in Windows out right. I downloaded Opera 10.50 last week, and after 3 hours of using it, I went back to Mozilla Firefox. I have IE 8, Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera and Netscape installed and I still end up using Ff and IE as my web browsers. Opera should not be looking at Microsoft as a threat, but Google who will be releasing an OS that will not even support their own browser.

Also, why aren't these browser makers complaining about Apple and OS X?

[cuwickliffe]

Well, Microsoft's doing itself no favors right now because if you click Install Now or Learn More for IE, it bounces to a broken link. At least this is what it's doing now (5:30 p.m. EST)

[codynews]

This is all so stupid. I wonder if the EU morons that came up with this feel embarrassed.

Cody

[Seaspray0]

I doubt it. Not while rolling in all the money they fined microsoft over the years for stupidity like this.

[Anon-Y-mous]

Seriously? They don't know how to call a RANDOM NUMBER GENERATOR correctly? What a joke of a company! I put total faith now in their GUID generators and other supposedly random-based code. Bet there must be a tons of bugs in their cryptographic areas as well.