Smaller browsers still not happy with ballot screen
With the European Union’s “browser ballot” screen already rolling out to some users, Internet Explorer’s four main rivals seem happy with the settlement. But the people behind the other seven browsers included in the ballot believe they are the victim of poor design.
The ballot screen, which will eventually appear on all new Windows computers plus any PC currently running Internet Explorer as its main browser, prompts users to consider installing one or more of the 12 most popular browsers in the European market.
The problem, say some browser manufacturers, is that while those ranked six through 12 are accessible through a horizontal scrollbar, there’s no other indication that there are browsers listed beyond the top five (Chrome, Firefox, IE, Opera, Safari). Six of the seven firms listed ‘off the screen’ have now formally complained to officials requesting a tweak to the ballot.
According to the browser manufacturers there is no need for a major redesign, and either a brief piece of text or even a prominent arrow would do enough to make the point clear to users who may only give the screen a glance.
It does seem a bit odd that the firms are only complaining now given that the design of the screen was made public back in December. However, they say there is still time to tweak the screen before it goes to out all users as part of Windows Update.
That’s not the only complaint about the screen. An IBM worker named Rob Weir, writing on a personal blog, reports that Microsoft made a basic error in the technique it set up to make sure the five main browsers appear in a random order on each screen. (This followed complaints that a fixed order, such as alphabetical, would give undue prominence to one option.)
There doesn’t seem to be anything sinister about the error: ironically it appears to be Internet Explorer which loses out, being the most likely to appear in fifth position. Weir says it’s not that surprising the mistake was made, but that it’s very surprising it wouldn’t get picked up in testing.
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March 5th, 2010
when are we going to get a ballot screen on linux distros or the iphone? this is just ridiculous.