Windows 7 set to ship without Internet Explorer

 

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Posted on 12 Jun 2009 at 16:24

Microsoft will remove Internet Explorer 8 from the European versions of Windows 7 in order to comply with European competition law.

The decision to drop the web browser was made by Microsoft in order to stay on the right side of the European Commission and avoid further fines.

"The worldwide launch of Windows 7 is fast approaching, but a pending legal case raises concerns about the sufficiency of competition among the web browsers that are available to Windows users in Europe," said Dave Heiner, vice president and deputy general counsel at Microsoft. "In January the European Commission provided its preliminary view that Microsoft's 'bundling' of Internet Explorer in Windows violated European competition law."

Windows 7 versions released in Europe will have an E suffix, which denotes that they don't have Internet Explorer. So, what does this mean for consumers? In all likelihood, not a lot. Computer manufacturers are allowed to add whichever browser they like to machines that they sell and Microsoft will make it easy for them to install Internet Explorer 8.

"Computer manufacturers will be able to add any browser they want to their Windows 7 machines, including Internet Explorer, so European consumers who purchase new PCs will be able to access the Internet without any problem," said Heiner.

It stands to reason that with the majority of consumers used to and happy with Internet Explorer that a large proportion of new computers that run Windows 7 will also have Internet Explorer 8 installed.

For people that buy a copy of Windows 7 themselves, Microsoft will also provide a simple and easy way for those users to install Internet Explorer 8.

To us, the European Commission's decision seems like a dumb one. A web browser is a necessity with any computer, particularly when you install a new operating system and need to download new applications and tools. Not having a web browser built into Windows 7 will just make things harder.

Let's remember that a built-in copy of Internet Explorer is as useful for downloading a different web browser as it is for any other operation. Once an alternative browser has been installed it can easily be set as the default browser so that Internet Explorer never has to be used again.

Author: David Ludlow