Microsoft is promoting alternative browsers to millions of Windows users across Europe — and Opera is poised to pounce on the opportunity. With a brand-new, faster iteration of its open-source browser, Opera is working hard to gain the attention of Europeans looking for an Internet Explorer alternative.
Microsoft used to configure Internet Explorer as the default browser for its Windows operating system , but agreed last October to test-market measures to give European consumers an option to download and install competing browsers like Google’s Chrome and Mozilla’s Firefox.
Microsoft is now offering European Windows users a choice through a browser screen that will be displayed automatically, and users can make any browser the default. Users can even turn Microsoft’s Internet Explorer off, although Microsoft has said there’s no need to turn it off to make another browser the default.
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March 5th, 2010
TiVo on Tuesday set out to reinvent itself with DVRs that blend television and Internet viewing experiences. The TiVo Premiere and TV Premiere XL combine access to cable programming, movies, web videos, and music.
TiVo is positioning the new devices as a one-stop shop for entertainment, offering viewers broadband and broadcast integration that lets them search for YouTube clips, Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand and Blockbuster On Demand libraries, and more from one interface. The new offering uses pictures and graphics to make the television guide more interactive as users search through millions of pieces of content.
“TiVo has advanced the state of the art in DVR appliances. There’s no question about that,” said Phil Leigh, a senior analyst at Inside Digital Media. “But whether it’s enough to motivate existing owners of TiVo to spend money on a new box is more debatable. If I didn’t have a DVR, it certainly gives me a material added reason to buy TiVo. But if I just bought a TiVo a year or two ago, I’m not ready to spend more money just to get a newer interface.”
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March 5th, 2010
