Here's a particularly insightful parallel for the state of Windows browsers:

Having MSIE bundled with Windows poses no problem for me... However, I dislike sites that require it. It's like mailing around text files that need Notepad to read... Rude.

Minus the fact that IE is on the desktop and Notepad isn't, that's a great parallel. IE isn't evil, of course. It's the love of IE that's evil. Sites that require IE, MS software that requires -- no, more properly doesn't require yet ties itself inextricably to IE through API calls are examples of either lazy programming or evidence of the Profit Maximization Machine.

That said, IE is a stink-out browser now. Nothing's really happened to it for years. All it does better than the competition is run ActiveX! Sorry. That's really an off-topic rant.

Anyhow, very good parallel. No problem to bundle a browser with your OS, but it is when something requires its use -- when the whole purpose of a browser (imo, etc) is to deliver standardized markup anyhow.