

Opera Software, the Norwegian maker of the Opera web browser, filed a complaint with the European Commission alleging that Microsoft engages in anticompetitive practices by tying its browser to the Windows operating system and by not following accepted web standards. (Haven't we heard this song before?)

"We are filing this complaint on behalf of all consumers who are tired of having a monopolist make choices for them," said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO of

Opera, in a prepared statement.

It's not clear, though, that we really need Opera to speak on our behalf. Even if Microsoft is a big bully, why does Mozilla Firefox continue to steal share away from Microsoft if it's if it's so difficult for other software makers to break into the browser market?

As of June 2007, Mozilla had 12.7 percent market share of the browser market, and gained 1 percent in the first six months of the year, while Internet Explorer lost 1.2 percent market share, according to OneStat.com.

Photo: Flickr/Andyket

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