Windows 7 Without Internet Explorer

October is not that far away and that means the launch of Windows 7 is not too far away either. We have all been obsessing, celebrating, and even counting down to the release of Windows 7. The operating system was announced to come with new features like handwriting recognition, advanced touch screen, and other cool gadgets making it so sought after. The obvious choice for web browser is Internet Explorer in the United States. However, this choice may be different in other countries.

The UK has very strict rules when it comes to competition and consumer choice. The European Commission said earlier this year that grouping Internet Explorer with the new operating system violates European competition laws. Microsoft says in response to this claim that they will ship Windows 7 to Europe without Internet Explorer as its Web Browser. Instead, Internet Explorer will be available separately in Europe. The goal of this restriction is giving consumers the choice of a competitor web browser over Internet Explorer, if they wish. Microsoft claims this will not affect the European release date, which is still October 22 worldwide.

You might find this a little hard to believe; I know I did. Microsoft is selling a product to consumers and yet not allowed to promote another product within the first. Americans, like myself, find this counterintuitive because we have no such regulations to compare this to. The Anti-trust law under the European Commission requires that suppliers must be independent of each other, allowing fair competition.

This isn’t the first time Microsoft has gotten in trouble with the European Commission regarding Europe’s competition laws. Just last year the Commission fined Microsoft for putting media player and browser in Windows. Because of this history between Microsoft and the European Commission, I personally think that Microsoft will follow through with what they are proposing, i.e. they’ve learned their lesson. Or this history of disobedience may cause the Commission to be extra tough on Windows 7 and any future Microsoft projects.