Windows 7 to ship without a web browser in Europe

[BlackCat]

I think the US should starting forcing Airbus to ship their American bound planes without seats.

Trade wars

I think that that already happens through demand of extra wide and reinforced seats.

[DanS]

This is funny. Now the EU will just go after the easy installer, if it also doesn't offer Firefox, etc.

[Riesstiu IV]

I think that that already happens through demand of extra wide and reinforced seats.

Airlines make more by forcing fatties to pay for two seats.

[Traianvs]

This is nice. It saves me the effort of deleting the Explorer shortcut on my desktop

It will require me to copy paste firefox on my portable HD first, but I shall readily sacrifice those extra seconds in order to avoid Explorer

[Q Classic]

It's an idiotic requirement. IE blows, but that's no reason to mandate its removal.

Then again, at least it's not Safari/Windows.

Seriously, this anti-trust thing is long over with.

[Dinner]

I'm sure if they used Windows update then Explorer would be an option.

[Aeson]

That's how Windows 7 ships for the rest of the world.

[FrostyBoy]

What was the purpose of this?

[Asher]

Something about competition in the browser market. Because apparently IE's marketshare is impenetrable despite its rapid decline, and because the browser business is so lucrative.

[Tattila the Hun]

Hah , indeed. All the major competitors are essentially free, though you need to buy an OS bundled to IE...

[onodera]

The only European web browser is Opera, and it is terribly awful.

**** you, Opera's awesome.

[Heraclitus]

This is nice. It saves me the effort of deleting the Explorer shortcut on my desktop

It will require me to copy paste firefox on my portable HD first, but I shall readily sacrifice those extra seconds in order to avoid Explorer

+1

[Asher]

You guys are showing why Europe is on a steep decline.

You talk about how it "saves you from deleting the icon on the desktop" but it then requires you to download firefox, copy it to a key on another computer, then install it on your new computer.

How ****ing slow are you at deleting...

[dannubis]

Not that I care either way, but can't firefox's basic engine not be shipped on the disk ?

And @ Asher: go blow yourself.

[Dry]

Cool.

Hopefully this leads to less Europeans on the internet, as they'll have to get their browsers from somewhere other than the internet.

Hmm, like in 'having the choice', and choosing a manufacturer who will install an alternative browser.

I am glad you are happy that people will have the choice.
However, I fail to understand why choice would lead to less Europeans on the internet...

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10262630-56.html

To ensure that Microsoft is in compliance with European law, Microsoft will be releasing a separate version of Windows 7 for distribution in Europe that will not include Windows Internet Explorer," the software maker said in the memo. "Microsoft will offer IE8 separately and free of charge and will make it easy and convenient for PC manufacturers to preinstall IE 8 on Windows 7 machines in Europe if they so choose. PC manufacturers may choose to install an alternative browser instead of IE 8, and has always been the case, they may install multiple browsers if they wish.

...

Microsoft's decision, though, is also interesting given that the company argued in its long antitrust battle that the browser was an integral part of the operating system that could not easily be stripped from Windows.

Choice