Windows 7 will ship without IE in Europe

OEMs and those selling PCs will be alarmed at the potential impact on their business of not having IE on machines loaded with Windows - a fact cleverly hinted at in the opening of Heiner's blog. "Microsoft had sent a memo to computer manufacturers and retailers about our plans for Windows 7 in Europe. We're getting quite a few calls on this, so we thought it would be helpful to explain our plans," Heiner wrote.

Heiner did not say how IE would be delivered, but given you'd need a browser to get online in the first place the likelihood is IE will be delivered via Microsoft's Automatic Update service.

Regulators are right to maintain the pressure on Microsoft and competitors are justified in feeling shortchanged.

Based on Microsoft's sales figures for Windows XP N, the facts strongly suggest that OEMs, retailers, and customers will not be interested in Windows without IE and neither Microsoft or its partners will be interested in promoting this bastard operating system. Microsoft knows this and is betting it can offer a solution it knows will not only fail but that will keep browser competitors out of the mainstream Windows SKUs.

In offering an IE-free Windows, Microsoft clearly hopes it can preempt the legal outcome it fears - one of two options regulators have been discussing. Those options? Microsoft must either ship rival browsers with Windows or make them available for download from Automatic Update.

That would take competition against IE to a whole new level. No more Firefox slowly nibbling at the edges through downloads along with Opera or Chrome, but now presented on an equal basis out of the box as an alternative to IE.

The success of IE has been not just that it simplified the web browsing experience for many, but that it's easy for the ordinary user to find. They don't have to go to download sites. Making Opera, Firefox, or Chrome available in Windows or through Automatic Update would cede that advantage to rivals. ®