Microsoft drops browserless Windows 7

Redmond gives in to pressure.

Microsoft has dropped plans to ship a version of Windows 7 without Internet Explorer, after the European Commission voiced its objections to the proposals.

In a blog posting, Microsoft vice president and deputy general counsel Dave Heiner, said the software giant would no longer be shipping the unique browserless version of the new operating system, dubbed Windows 7 E.

The plan was originally conceived as a way to satisfy European competition laws, but soon after it was announced, the Commission made it clear it was not happy.

It said “consumers should be offered a choice of browser, not that Windows should be supplied without a browser at all”.

Last week, Microsoft finally acquiesced, unveiling new plans to present consumers with a ballot screen offering them a choice of browsers, which the Commission welcomed.

“In the wake of last week’s developments, as well as continuing feedback on Windows 7 E that we have received from computer manufacturers and other business partners, 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,” wrote Heiner.

He added that another reason for dropping Windows 7 E was concerns raised by computer manufacturers and partners.

“Several worried about the complexity of changing the version of Windows that we ship in Europe if our ballot screen proposal is ultimately accepted by the Commission and we stop selling Windows 7 E,” he added.

“Computer manufacturers and our partners also warned that introducing Windows 7 E, only to later replace it with a version of Windows 7 that includes IE, could confuse consumers about what version of Windows to buy with their PCs.”