Europe says browser-less Windows 7 not enough

Ok, heres the way to make it work. MS should ships Win 7 with no browser, but have an IE8 installer included on the Win 7 disk. If any other browser manufacturer wants their browser available they should supply MS with an installer disk that can be shipped in the Win 7 box, along with a small handling fee for each disk they supply. Why should MS have to pay their employees to handle a competitors disk. Oh and since this will only be for the EU release MS should also up the price a little bit for this version to take care of the extra costs of creating a version that is only shipped to one part of the world. Oh and maybe release it a year later just to give the EU a chance to evaluate it and see if there any other ways they might possibly be able to sue MS. Or MS could treat this like laptop vendors do, ship all versions of Win 7 with all browsers made, but then all browser manufacturers should pay a subsidy to MS to help lower the cost of Windows. Or the best solution the EU and Opera should just STFU.

I am EU citizen and I think this is just absurd.

Im a EU citizen, but I agree...Ms should fight back and not release Windows 7 in the EU until the comission backs off. Whats next? BMW forced to include parts from crysler, just because the cant sell cars and BMW can? ... if FF is better people will user it...if Opera is better more people will use that .. .if you cant compete without crying to you mother...stop competing and go home.

No kidding! That's shows just how unfair these regulators are when they ignore what the competition and system builders are doing. Why does the EU harass Microsoft for their bundle and not Apple or any of the other system builders? Microsoft should have a right to design and sell the product that they intended to offer the customer. The EU is taking this to far by forcing their opinion into the matter.

If customers don't know how to install a 3rd party browser on their own, (Next, Next, Finish) then they're not going to understand why they're making a selection between Opera, Firefox, or Internet Explorer in the first place.

I agree with others here. I'd be tickled if MS said piss off, and didn't offer Windows 7 in EU states. Windows 7 (retail software) should ship with all intended features enabled and no 3rd party apps. Let the customers riot and reflect just how far from reality these anti-trust regulators are.

Does the EU suggestion require Windows to include the "choose your browser" dialog box as part of the "first boot" process? Or could it be a part of the computer's BIOS, asking the question before whatever OS you use boots? If so, how will they enforce its inclusion into BIOS's? Will they gripe if "IE" isn't listed randomly enough? Will the suppliers of all other browsers be required to provide MS with the proper protocols (links, art, etc.) to be listed? Or will that be left up to MS? And will the EU be satisfied if MS doesn't meet some unknowable, un-Godly requirement for how this is to be done?

Micromanagement of positively EVERYTHING is ... What can I say? It's stupid, it's a mess, it's expensive, it can't POSSIBLY work the way its intended, it harms the consumer, it harms competition ... Sheesh. Back off, already.

I believe the EU is on a gold digging tour thru MS. The initial intention of the first lawsuit against MS was justified in a sense of blocking out third party apps that weren't MS certificated. I recall trying to install firefox years back and being blocked off by IE. Well it's fixed. As much as I don't like a lot of things on MS I also have to acknowledge the rules of engagement in business. Bill Gates is the owner of MS and therefore has the freedom and right to supply a product. (Emphasis put on "a product") MS isn't a monopoly anymore in the market of OSes. If people do not like MS, then go and purchase a MacOS or install Unix-based OSes. The choice lies with the consumer.(not talking about apps) And I have to admit, MS is clever using the "flock of sheep" mentality to their advantage. Consumers are habitual inhabitants of a fast paced tech-world and sooo not willing to look over the fence !
If the EU would be serious about competive markets they would have to sue a lot of other companies.
And as a matter of fact the reason why Win is out there so much comes from the apps provider. Almost every software for the industries is MS based. I haven't found Autodesk writing AutoCad 2010 for Linux or Leopard X. So don't complain to Bill so much, go and bang the apps programmer as well.
Note to Mr. Gates: I propose you chuck your IE on Win7 as a normal app that can be removed via "Remove programs" through the control panel. Users choice it will be at the end and I know you won't loose your flock of sheep !

Regards Down Under

Yep this is silly. Fine, ship it without the browser. What next? Windows 7 isnt shipping with a full Office suite - does that mean that it now has to offer options to download all other available office suites to avoid unfair competition? MS arent bundling an Office Suite so I guess this is anti-competitive.

Where does it end? If it isnt enough to remove a type of software from the Operating system who is to say Windows 7 shouldnt be sold with links to every piece of software released by a competitor for every category of software not included with Windows?

The poster who commented on the EU reliance on MS money to top up their bank roll is right. Its absurd. I like the idea that Microsofts actions are said to be making the regulators look "unnecessarily bad" - it doesn't take much does it? You can't polish a turd.

Windows is an operating system,a complete operating system,as such it operates everything it needs to on a PC,so for this reason should contain everything needed to operate a pc,which in this day and age ,is primarily used to gain access to the internet,so Windows 7 should include IE8.If the EU want to complain about it they should have leaflets printed up,for PC manufacturers to distribute with their systems,listing alternative browsers,media players,etc etc,and how they can be downloaded,where from,and all info they require to do so,then people who want a change,can do just that,as they can already,no matter what OS they use.

The EU commision has not a clue about computers. They probably think they need bump starting on a cold day.

That is the whole reason for this debacle. As another poster noted, it is because IE was tied in and Windows Explorer used IE's rendering engine to display pages.

If MS didn't "couple" the browser with windows in the first place, then the s^&t-storm that resulted would never have happened and the EU wouldn't be smacking them for it for the next umpteen years.

Most people are content just to use Internet Explorer, but those of us who know better will look else where for a better browser. The majority of people wouldn't know what to do with a choice of browser and still get Internet Explorer on grounds of familiarity. It's unreasonable to ask a company to offer it's competitors products, no matter how much it dominates the market.

Kinda funny the EU is firing off an antitrust law suite over FREE products. I think if MS has to issue their software product with competing products, MS should have the ability to charge any of the competitors that want their browser listed on MS's operating system.
This is just another plot by the EU to steal money from MS and keep the lawyers working. The next thing you know Dell will have to ship their pc's in an HP case with a lenovo keyboard, logitec mouse and a viewsonic monitor.

Total hipocrisy....

Firefox, safari, ect say microsoft is monopolising the market by giving away a free internet browser with every version of windows..

How will they solve this?

By bundling THEIR free internet browsers with windows by force....

Double standards anyone??

Well, EU have done it again... I was on EU bashing warpath for their overly eager regulatory practices for a while. I agree with the fact that IE got its current market share primarily due to being bundled with the OS. However, right now, it's kind of pointless - no longer it's a choice between Netscape and IE, people can install whatever browser they want with several mainstream ones being very effective, easily available and FREE. Netscape got screwed not because it was worse, but mainly because it was charging money ($50, if I remember correctly) while IE was free. Right now switching costs between browsers are ZERO. For a bulk of users there is no learning curve altogether - type the address, hit enter, DUH!

Right now, ANYTHING that EU would suggest except making IE8 removable would hurt competition. If other developers would need to provide the disks to the manufacturers, it would increase the developers' costs. If the OEM would need to install browsers themselves, that would increase their costs. If I need to uninstall four out of five browsers from my machine, that would piss me off. Nice going, EU!

Unfortunately, I do not see the regulators complaining about Apple OS and Safari for a long time - one of prerequisites for an antitrust case is a significant market share. Which Apple doesn't have, especially in Europe.

Pull out of Europe... let them develop their own o/s. I'm sick of this ****.

I suspect this has more to do with the EU descision makers being out of touch with Microsoft products since they can afford Mac Book Pros on their expense-inflated salaries. Also "Zafaree, eet eez much more styleesh, hein?"
Bill, meet them in the underground carpark with a few briefcases full of cash and you'll hear no more about 'competition'....

if you actually know which browser you want, won't you already know how to download it? people that know how to use computers know how to download browsers. people that don't know how to use computers don't need a choice of 10 browsers to choose from.

Who does Guest think he is?

google isn't nearly that good or big

Hehe, always funny seeing the difference in way of thinking between US and Eu ppl. For those not-informed one, its not EU that's making problem, but the company that started the lawsuit, in this case Opera. So, pls, stop cry-baby routine, and yeah people in EU would be really sad if Micro$oft decide not to sell Win7 here. Like someone will decide to use it once it's available?! Vista, someone?? And, not to forget, there is something called democracy and freedom to choose, so why is it bad for ppl to have choice at first start-up?? Is Microsoft worried that nobody will use IE at the end?
Greeting from EU