Microsoft restricts third-party browsers in Windows RT*

Mozilla and Google’s plans to develop a Metro-style version of their browsers for Windows 8 were dealt a major blow this week after it was revealed that Microsoft will restrict third-party browsers like Firefox and Chrome from accessing certain APIs on its ARM devices.

There are some potential advantages to this approach. In a Building Windows 8 post from February, Microsoft explained that the requirement for Metro-only apps on Windows RT eliminates many of the programming tricks used by Win32 app developers, including background processes, registry changes, admin rights, add-ins, and a host of other common techniques that could result in unreliable, memory-hogging apps.

Forcing all third-party apps to run in the sandboxed Metro environment will deliver a new level of security for Windows on ARM products. But it also means that browsers like Firefox and Chrome will be locked out from using certain APIs necessary for building a modern browser. According to Dotzler, there’s no way another browser can possibly compete with IE in terms of features or performance due to this restriction.

Stop thinking about adding another good quality browser at your device at the moment ..

*Windows RT stands for RunTime, it's the OS that devices will use in the near future.