No, it isn't.

- MS starting point is a dominating position on the OS market. This makes them subject to extra scrutiny to make sure that this position doesn't transfer to limited competition in other related markets, say the browsers' one. If MS had a 5% market share for OSs, this would be a moot point.

- A game is not meant to be a substitute for all other games. A browser is meant to substitute competing browsers in everything, forever.

It's a part of the operating system.

"Installed on your computer without consent

Runs in the background without you opening it

Requires a lot of effort or a special program to delete it

Is required by MS for updating your computer (if you're using XP at least)"

Hey, guess how many windows components, DLLs, etc fall under those categories? It's not about playing nice. MS considered web browsing to be integral to the PC using experience, and bundled the ability to do so by default. Most people are glad about this. Heck, I'm using firefox right now, but I would be VERY UNHAPPY if after buying a new PC, I had to drive to a friend's house with a flash drive in order to download firefox and install it.

NJ5 said: nordlead said: I'm waiting for the outrage of average users who can't find the internet with windows 7 It's not gonna happen, because the version of windows 7 without IE will probably not even be found at most stores...

of course, but this is the internet. I can guarentee you that someone buys the version and can't get online. Then goes back to windows XP and writes up long rants about how there is no way for him to connect his Windows 7 box to the internet

anyways, I don't think windows needs to do anything. Internet is essential to get the other browsers. I don't believe Microsoft should be forced to bundle competitors browsers, and it is easy to install and set as default other browsers. I really don't see why the EU union makes such a huge fuss out of this. All they do is force Microsoft to make a build of windows they have no intent to sell.

No... because you can buy a PS3 without Killzone 2.

You'd better have chosen wii sports as an example.

Europeans will have choice of the browser they want to have on their system... what's wrong with that?
Since it's something MS was giving for free, they won't lose anything by not including it... what's wrong with that?

Everytime you'll buy a pc with windows 7 in europe, the vendor (dell, hp, asus, sony, whatever) will install a browser on it (like they install many other software), but now it will be up to the vendor to chose which browser to include, maybe it'll be IE, maybe FF, maybe Opera, maybe something else.
(It will be IE most of the time if you want my opinion, but at least, it will be a little more fair competition)

Yes, whatever will microsoft do without those 10 megabytes ..

@ jereel - I feel honoured that you chose to actually read my post, because you sure as hell didn't read any others

"the EU has been trying since a few months to make MS include a "ballot box" for browsers in Windows (so that a person installing Windows could choose whether to install IE, Firefox, Opera, Safari and/or Chrome, choosing one as the default one)."
A single extra button click is all this would take. And then it saves you the harddrive space and ram that IE uses. No flash drives. Yay!

As for a particular web browser being 'a part of the OS' Sorry, what? If you delete a dll, you computer functions at a lower level to what it did before (if at all). If you delete IE, it functions at a higher level than it did before. You analogy is inapt!

Although I don't think this was necessary (and there will be confusion from end-users in some cases) there are solutions for such a version selling, if that's the point.

A huge chunk of the overall base will be on newly sold machines and on corporate computers where the IT team take care of installing products. In such cases there won't be a browserless OS at the end of it even if they go for the IE-less version.

There is also the possibility that retailers bundle a CD with a different browser, e.g. IE-less windows 7 and you get to pick a CD with your browser of choice in the shop.

so basically, no automatic install

that is good indeed

everybody is happy and IE can still be installed, it is up to you to remove it later or not

For the record, I read all the other posts.

As for the ballot box (and I did respond to a similar comment) it's ridiculous to force a OS maker (or any company) to effectively advertise their competitors.

As for it being part of the OS, IE was, previously, PART of the operating system. Explorer and IE were tied in, and not easily seperated. This has, SINCE the anti-trust agreement been changed, however when this original antitrust issue came up, it was the case.

Clearly the EU is never going to forgive MS for 'cheating' in the past with browsers.

With browsers essentially freeware from the consumer point of view it does seem kind of moot now - but this is what happens when you get caught with your fingers in the cookie jar in the first place by a slow moving but power bureaucracy.