The European "vista" of Microsoft's latest operating system offers a gloomy sight. While Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has applauded the licensing of approximately 40 million copies of Windows Vista worldwide, in the platform's first 100 days on the market, the European versions of the operating system are not doing so well. Microsoft's special editions of Windows Vista, designed for the European market have failed to appeal both to end-customers but also to system builders.

Microsoft is offering two versions of Windows Vista over the pond, in conformity with the requirements presented to the Redmond Company by the European Antitrust Commission. Still, the Vista versions tailor-fitted for Europe have only had a low number of takers. Windows Vista Home Basic N, and Windows Vista Business N - the two variants of the operating system available exclusively in Europe - were not licensed by a single computer manufacturer to be pre-loaded on machines. David Heiner, Associate General Counsel at Microsoft confirmed the fact that Vista Home Basic N and Business N failed to represent any attraction on the European market.

While the infrastructure of the two European versions of the operating system is identical to that of the original Vista editions, Windows Media Player was stripped from both due to unfair business practices concerns. However, nothing, not even the EU Commission, stopped Microsoft from selling the European and the original versions of Windows Vista side by side. In this context, the Redmond Company informed that Vista Home Basic N and Business N have been gathering dust on the shelves.

"PC manufacturers and consumers in Europe can now choose to get Windows with or without its media playback functionality. They have chosen the full-featured version of Windows, as might be expected," said Heiner, as cited by InformationWeek. Heiner went on to comment that the EU Commission's decision only managed to negatively affect both Microsoft and the end-consumers, and that instead of driving competition it delivered less choice to users.