Windows 7 E to Die Early

In an attempt to make its Windows flagship product compliant with the EU antimonopoly regulations, Microsoft announced that the upcoming Windows 7 flavor of the operating system would not include its Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) browser. Dubbed Windows 7 “E,” the OS version was expected to come to the market in the European Union, but it seems that the company changed its plans and will ship the fully packed Windows 7 in the area.

Following a recent proposal concerning the inclusion of a “consumer ballot screen” that would enable Windows users to select a Web browser of their choice, and the fact that the European Commission welcomed it, Microsoft has decided to include both IE8 and the ballot screen in Windows 7. Moreover, the same will apply to previously released iterations of Windows already available in the European Economic Area, including Windows Vista (SP2 too) and Windows XP (SP3 too).

“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,” Dave Heiner, Microsoft's vice president and deputy general counsel, says in a blog statement. “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,” he continues.

According to Heiner, computer manufacturers and partners raised concerns regarding the introduction of Windows 7 E. In case the ballot screen proposal got accepted, Microsoft would have had to change the version of Windows shipped to Europe, which might have confused users. At the same time, the Commission also said previously that it believed “consumers should be offered a choice of browser, not that Windows should be supplied without a browser at all.”

However, things are not final yet, as the Commission still has to approve Microsoft's proposal. In case it does, as soon as a Windows PC is set up by a user in the European Economic Area, it will receive a consumer ballot software program as an update over the Internet, providing on a Web page a list of leading browsers, other than IE. Only those who have IE set as their default browser will receive it, Heiner says, adding that new browsers will be included in the list as they emerge.