Microsoft tweaks browser ballot code

C|Net | at | by Mike

In response to antitrust concerns by European regulators, the company recently unveiled its browser ballot page to give European users a choice of browsers to install. But the company was criticized for using sloppy code that didn't adequately randomize the order in which each browser's icon and link displays.

The algorithm used is supposed to change the order of the browsers from left to right each time the page opens. That change occurred, but apparently not randomly enough. The code often put rival browsers at the start of the list and frequently kept Internet Explorer to the far right.