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>That should be settled in the market.

Very funny. The average Joe isn't aware of IE's price tag. He doesn't realize that money goes down the drain if he uses IE. That money could be either spend elsewhere (eg to improve usability or accessibility improvements) or saved. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_broken_window

Check the press release:
http://www.opera.com/pressreleases/en/2007/12/13/

The interview:
http://www.opera.com/pressreleases/en/2007/12/13/video/

And if you like also the open letter to the web community:
http://people.opera.com/howcome/2007/msft/

Oh and of course it was a browser vendor how filed the complaint. Seriously who else should do it? Some energy drink or cat food vendor? Don't be silly.

The average Joe is aware of the price of Windows and everything it entails. No one thinks they pay for Windows and everything else is free. Would you prefer an itimized list of what each component of Windows adds to the cost? The broken window parable simply doesn't apply.

No, I wouldn't expect Tender Vittles to file the suit, but if it was such a problem to the consumer that's who would be filing the suit. Not a sour grapes competitor. Why is FireFox able to gain market share when Opera can't? It's not a standards compliance issue. It's an Opera issue.

Haha... no, I didn't mean the price for the software itself. I meant the price for IE compatible websites. 33-50% of the (x)html/css phase is wasted with taking care of IE issues. Sometimes you're lucky and it's only one well known bug... and well, sometimes you aren't and you have to redo some bits over and over again until it finally works.

At the end of the day it's the customer who has to pay. Where else should the money come from? It's either factored into the prices of products or other things get simply cut off to meet the budget.

Often I want to improve a few things here and there, but thanks to IE I'm out of time, and I have to leave things as they are. And even if the deadline isn't close, the client usually doesn't have an infinite pile of money.

Of course you could argue that it's great for web developers, because more working hours means more cash. However, the time could be better used for other things... see my first link which explains the concept very clearly.

>but if it was such a problem to the consumer that's who would be filing the suit

The customer isn't aware of that issue. After all all of the internet works fine for him... surprise surprise... of course it does, because lots of time and money was used to make it work.

Gee... it's so obvious.

But lets imagine this information paradox wouldn't exist. Who has the resources to file an EU complaint? Did you ever file one? What? You didn't? :P

Amphi, I agree completely that IE is a pain for the developer. That's not the issue. The issue is do we want a court (lawyers) or the government (beurocrats) dictating software design? I know I don't.

I may not have filed an EU complaint, but it's not difficult to an ambulance chaser if they smell money (especially from a company with deep pockets) that will gladly take on a class action style suit. Anyway, how do you know I haven't filed one already? :-)

Well, I would like to see some pressure on Microsoft. The biggest issue for me is that Microsoft actually benefits from a slightly broken browser. Eg lots of intraweb software only works with IE and as a web designer you simply need IE for testing. You need one locally, because it's way too quirky for occasional remote tests done by someone else. And if you need IE you need Windows.

If you got a monopoly the rules are pretty different. You can molest everyone, get away with it, and make a truckload of money on the way. They slow down the progress and obstruct compatibility. It's bad for all of us.

So, yea... I want to see em bleed... badly. No matter what it takes.

>Anyway, how do you know I haven't filed one already? :-)

That's easy. If you were filthy rich you most likely would have a slightly more exciting hobby than hanging around on dzone. ;)

>If you were filthy rich you most likely would have a slightly more exciting hobby than hanging around on dzone.

You've got me there. :-)