Google agrees with Mozilla's Windows RT browser concerns
Mozilla says only a crippled version of Firefox could run on Windows for ARM chips, effectively restricting user choice to IE10, and now the maker of Chrome says it's worried, too. — Google has joined Mozilla in its attempt …
Context & Ripple Effects
Google and Mozilla have had an uneasy browser relationship since Chrome's arrival, with Mozilla's chief describing the ties as complicated after Chrome and Firefox advocates later objecting to Chrome Frame's effect on browser competition. Their alignment against Windows RT therefore centers a shared concern: Microsoft’s platform rules can determine which browsers receive full capabilities.
The dispute drew broad same-day pickup across technology outlets, elevating a product-policy objection into a wider argument over whether ARM-based Windows devices offer meaningful browser competition.
First-order effects
- Mozilla and Google gain a common public position against Windows RT rules that leave Firefox and Chrome with limited versions while IE10 retains the full browser role.
- Windows RT buyers face a narrower browser choice if third-party browsers cannot match IE10's capabilities on the platform.
Second-order effects
- Microsoft faces coordinated pressure from the two principal third-party browser vendors to defend or change Windows RT's browser-access rules.
- Browser competition on Windows RT shifts from features and performance toward the operating system’s permissions, giving IE10 an advantage set by the platform owner.
Third-order effects
- If platform owners reserve key browser capabilities for their own software, browser competition can be decided at the deployment layer rather than by user choice or web standards.
- The Google-Mozilla alignment suggests that rivals with separate browser agendas may cooperate when operating-system restrictions threaten their ability to compete.
The trend: Browser competition is becoming increasingly shaped by operating-system access rules, not only by browser product design.