Windows 7 to ship without a web browser in Europe
 

Like an USB flash drive?

I think it's cool too http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/smile.gif

It should come with Netscape Navigator. http://www.discussworldissues.com/im...ons/icon14.gif

I'm curious, is the EU going to order Apple to unbundle mobile Safari from the iPhone/iPod Touches? That thing has mobile marketshare comparable to IE's desktop marketshare. Fair is fair.

That's how Windows 7 ships for the rest of the world. http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/smile.gif

http://www.aeroxp.org/2009/03/ie8-fu...lly-removable/

http://www.aeroxp.org/wp-content/upl.../features1.png

The only European web browser is Opera, and it is terribly awful.

Far less. As I understand it, the IE engine (Trident) is still installed. Like removing IE from Windows 7, all references to IE have been removed as has the iexplore.exe binary. But as some may know, iexplore.exe is just a shell for the Trident rendering engine which is a Win32 component and will still be there -- otherwise this would break all apps which depended on the web browser component.

Probably saves 2 or 3MB.

*animal husbandry

This is funny. Now the EU will just go after the easy installer, if it also doesn't offer Firefox, etc.

This is nice. It saves me the effort of deleting the Explorer shortcut on my desktop http://www.discussworldissues.com/im...ons/icon14.gif

It will require me to copy paste firefox on my portable HD first, but I shall readily sacrifice those extra seconds in order to avoid Explorer http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...milies/nod.gif

I'm sure if they used Windows update then Explorer would be an option.

What was the purpose of this?

Hah , indeed. All the major competitors are essentially free, though you need to buy an OS bundled to IE...

+1

Not that I care either way, but can't firefox's basic engine not be shipped on the disk ?

And @ Asher: go blow yourself.

Choice always existed, Dry. You're deluding yourself.

Shipping every Windows copy with a browser enables the user to choose between ALL browsers.

Shipping Windows without one means users are restricted in their choice to whatever they have available on physical mediums already. Restricts choice!

The excuse that now OEMs can bundle browsers with the OS is naive at best. Have you ever purchased a computer from an OEM? I'm sure you have. Do you know their business model? They sell the apps they bundle to the highest bidder. This does not promote consumer choice. I guarantee you, you're going to start to see "branded" browsers from OEMs and you're also going to see ad-supported browsers from the Euro budget manufacturers.

CHOICE http://www.discussworldissues.com/im...ons/icon14.gif

Re: the last quote there -- the browser is still integrated into the OS (Trident rendering engine). All they've removed is the iexplorer.exe shell for it.

yes, I am huggable that way. Don't strain your back http://www.discussworldissues.com/im...ons/icon14.gif

I hate IE, but this is just plain stupid. 99% of all customers will just sit there and wait for a browser to fall down from heaven. I read a comment on another site that "people can just do as I did back in the Win95 days: Use a FTP client and download from there. Sure, a little tinkering, but nothing much." I mean, seriously. Most people don't know what FTP is. Way to go for MS and the EU to destroy a monopoly.http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ilies/wink.gif

You don't need a web browser to get firefox on Vista, you can download it via ftp on the command line.

eg. http://dotnetwizard.net/hacks/downlo...-touching-ie7/

They aren't taking that out of Windows 7 AFAIK.

Maybe Canadians just aren't technologically aware enough to know how to do that.

you think ftp is complex?

The most simple of tasks are complex for Europeans. FTP would be too complex for most of them.