[Rant] Web Browsers are a commodity, so why reinvent the wheel?

I just heard that Microsoft might be working on a new web browser. My initial hope was that they would be building on the same WebKit base that most other browsers use. As I read further, I noticed that both chakra and Trident will be used if Microsoft goes forward with this 'new browser'. It's hard for me to articulate just how silly this seems to me...

When I think about web browsers and the experience people expect when they visit a website, it occurs to me that web browsers and web browsing have become commodity experiences. As a consumer, I want web pages to load consistently across all the devices I use no matter who the manufacturer is or what OS it loads. We're long past the day when 'Works best with browser xxx' was considered an acceptable response to page load inconsistency.

It strikes me as an interesting move for a company like Microsoft to build a 'new browser' by taking their old quirk-ridden core (Trident) and packaging it in something new. Given that there is no money in making a web experience unique to a certain browser, why not take this opportunity to get behind a more open core and be a part of providing a consistent experience across devices? As a consumer I'm more likely to be annoyed than overjoyed by things working in one browser over another. As a web developer I don't want to have to support yet another set of browser specific behavior in order to deliver a consistent experience to my customers.

The sun is setting on Adobe Flash and Silverlight never really gained traction on the web. HTML5, CSS3 and evergreen browsers are providing a web that grows consistently with time. Unless I'm missing something, I don't think there is any money to be made by pouring engineering resources into creating an experience that at best matches what is currently out there.

Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of sunsetting Internet Explorer and moving even more people towards a more standards compliant browser. I just don't see how dragging legacy code around can help accomplish this. If Microsoft or anyone else wants to improve their web browser experience I suggest they think more Open than Closed.