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28 Dec 2005
Dell UK has started bundling the open source Firefox browser with its desktop PC systems, a sales rep for the computer maker confirmed to vnunet.com.
Dell will also support the application, according to the representative, who identified himself only as 'Jay'. An official spokesman for the company was unable to comment due to the holiday period.
The computers will ship with both Internet Explorer and Firefox. The bundling deal appears to be limited to the UK for now.
The move could offer a major push to Firefox's market share. The open source browser rose to a 11.5 per cent share in November, according to data from Onestat. The same data pegged Internet Explorer's market share at 85.5 per cent.
Bundling Internet Explorer with Windows in the past allowed Microsoft to beat Netscape to the number one position in browser market share because most users will use whatever browser ships with their system.
After a judge ruled that the exclusive browser bundling deals were unlawful, Microsoft began to lose its grip on the browser market.
HP said earlier this year that it would start bundling Netscape with its desktop and laptop computers by 2006.
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Do you agree?
Disagree with first comment
I actually think that the second guy is correct & that people will use Firefox because it is already installed. With all of the bad press that IE has been given, many will turn to Firefox to try it out & when they find how much better a program it is, they won't go back to IE.
Posted by: Rex Alfie Lee 05 Jan 2006
What's Firefox
I took delivery of a new Dell PC at work just before xmas and was delighted to find Firefox bundled by default. My Dad also purchased a Dell laptop and that too had a pre 1.5 version installed. I had to upgrade it to 1.5, but it's a start. However, what was most disheartening was his lack of enthusiam for the 'killer features' of Firefox. Despite my explaining at great length, along with demonstrations, he simply couldn't get the whole tabbed browsing thing. Unless I showed him, he would never have even known about them. He definitely had trouble seeing the benefit. He liked the 'latest headlines' RSS link, but didn't really understand (again, despite my lengthy, excited explanations) the whole RSS priciple, even in its grossly simplified 'live bookmarks' form. So overall, the benefit of Firefox was definitely lost on him. In fact, he phoned me a couple of days later to say he couldn't access a site because it was crashing his browser. Turned out it had some WMV embedded in it. So a decidedly luke-warm interest in Firefox turned into a somewhat sour experience. So, is Firefox ready (will it ever be?) for the 'mainstream'? It would appear not. But, for power users, it's definitely still a killer app. And when all is said and done, it's done and continues to do its job of making MS sit up, listen and, most importantly, *compete*.
Posted by: Charles 05 Jan 2006
Great news!
Microsoft is still king of the hill when it comes to operating systems as no one else has made a product that appeals to the masses as readily as Windows. However, folks are prepared to use another browser (apart from IE) as it doesn't require any particular skills to install and use. Whilst the debate will continue for ages about which is the better browser, competition will be good for Microsoft who do need to improve the security and useability of their own products, in particular IE.
Posted by: Doug McCoy 04 Jan 2006
This is a HUGE deal!
Sure, many customers still won't use Firefox, but many others who lacked the motivation to download and install Firefox before will sure find it easy to give it a spin now.
Posted by: Clark Celtin 31 Dec 2005
not really a big deal...
Whilst this may expose a portion of the masses to non-MS browsers, I'll lay odds that IE is still the default browser, and that many of these dell/uk users won't even wind up trying firefox. I use firefox myself, but joe 6-pack is still more likely to recognize 'Internet Explorer' as a web browser. 'Firefox' was simply a bad naming decision.
Posted by: jcypher 29 Dec 2005