Internet Explorer will ship with Windows 7

 

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Posted on 2 Aug 2009 at 00:24

In a dramatic turnaround Microsoft has said that it will ship the same version of Windows 7 in Europe as in the rest of the world, complete with Internet Explorer.

The turnaround was revealed on an official Microsoft blog.

In the posting Dave Heiner, vice president and deputy general counsel for Microsoft, revealed that the decision was taken when the European Commission welcomed the company's proposal to include a browser ballot screen. This option would give consumers a choice of browsers to pick from when they first run Windows 7.

Until the proposal is formally accepted, Microsoft will ship the standard version of Windows 7 in Europe, complete with Internet Explorer as the only browser choice.

"I'm pleased to report that we will ship the same version of Windows 7 in Europe in October that we will ship in the rest of the world," said Heiner. "If the Commission accepts our recent proposal, we would then fully implement all of its terms. As proposed, we would use the internet to deliver a ballot screen update to customers who purchase Windows 7 in the European Economic Area, either as part of a PC or as a retail upgrade product."

Microsoft's proposal has a strong chance of being accepted, as the Commission released a statement saying that it believed that "consumers should be offered a choice of browser, not that Windows should be supplied without a browser at all".

Under Microsoft's plans, it seems likely that Internet Explorer would be the default browser in all standalone versions of Windows (PC manufacturers can set the default browser on computers that they sell). When IE runs for the first time it will automatically load a browser ballot page, where consumers can choose which browser they'd prefer to use.

The removal of the E version is likely to be good news for consumers in the UK, as Microsoft had stated that we'd get less choice because of it. In particular, the Upgrade Editions and Family Pack of Windows 7 were not due to launch in the UK until at least 2010 because of the extra complexity of having to remove the web browser from them. It seems likely now that the UK will get the full range of options for Windows 7 as the rest of the world.

Author: David Ludlow