Windows 7 Build 7048, the latest development milestone of the next iteration of the Windows client, allows users to remove Internet Explorer 8 from the operating system. Well, in all fairness, they will be able to turn IE8 off.

Traditionally, Internet Explorer has been shipped as a default component of the Windows operating system. Also traditionally, Microsoft has been criticized for abusing its Windows monopoly in order to drive the installed base of IE, first in the U.S. and now by European Union antitrust regulators following a 2008 complaint filed by Opera. Until Windows 7, there has been no way for individuals to uninstall Internet Explorer from the platform.

And uninstalling is not exactly what Microsoft is allowing Windows 7 users to do with IE8. In fact, IE8 can be “turned off” via the Turn Windows features on or off dialog box, which can be accessed by means of the Control Panel, All Control Panel Options, Programs and Features, and Turn Windows Features On or Off in the left task pane (via Chris123nt).

Users will only need to check the box associated with IE8 in order to have the browser removed from the operating system. It is important to note that IE8 will not be uninstalled, and that the browser can be turned back on with another check of the box.

Even though Microsoft has provided them with the ability to set third-party browsers as the default in Windows, the fact that there was no way to remove IE still caused problems, with the operating system sometimes launching Internet Explorer for tasks, even though the end-users' configurations required a different program. Turning off IE8 in Windows 7 Build 7048 will reboot the operating system twice, at the end of which the “iexplore.exe” file will be deleted. Still, the rest of IE8's components will remain in the operating system.