Microsoft barring Firefox from Windows 8 RT, says Mozilla

While Mozilla continues to work on a new Metro style version of the Firefox browser, the company received a blow from Microsoft, who is planning to bar Firefox from the upcoming Windows 8 machines with ARM processors.

Mozilla mentioned in its blog post that Windows RT will support two environments for apps:  a Windows classic environment and a Metro environment. Microsoft's Internet Explorer will be the only browser capable of running in the Windows Classic mode on Windows RT machines. While third-party browsers will be able to run in the Metro environment, Mozilla wants no technical restrictions on apps running in the Classic environment too.

Speaking on the issue, Mozilla's general counsel Harvey Anderson said, "They're trying to make a new version of their operating system which denies their users choice, competition, and innovation. Making IE the only browser on that platform is a complete return to the digital dark ages when there was only one browser on the Windows platform."