European Union Approves Microsoft "Choose Your Browser" Option

Is that picture really how it will work? MS made the choice page rely on IE already being installed to "choose" a browser?

So if you close this window without picking (even IE), you still have IE configured as the default in the registry?

Gotta hand it to MS:  That's a pretty ballsy way for them to keep things the same as they've always been while presenting the illusion of complying with the EU requirement.  Will we need to start WMP to choose an alternate media player?  :)

Was thinking the same thing.

Though I don't know which other way they can do it besides having every browser pre-installed. Most of the masses will be upset if they don't see a browser at all when they first turn on their computer.

Or if you had some kind of program that let you choose your browser, it would be that extra few steps to begin surfing.

I don't know what the solution is, but every Windows OS should be shipped with some sort of browsing capabilities.

What I would have done is this:

1) Have no browser installed initially.

2) Give the user an icon for "install internet browser".

3) When clicked, it would use bring up a dialog that uses the standard Windows socket/.Net APIs (or some other free implementation like Wget or Curl) to download a list of available browsers and their info.

4) Display that info in that standard Windows dialog. Let the user choose one, and only at that point would any browser be installed.

That, or ship with all of them installed, all of them ready to take over as default when you launch them.  For non-OEM CDs, just have the user choose/install one browser during the install.

Interesting idea, could work for the majority of people.

The only obstacle would be novice users who will cancel the initial dialogue box, then promptly call up Dell CS and complain that they can't figure out how to check their email.

I prefer the idea of being able to choose your browser while installing. But the question becomes which ones should be available upon install. Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari and IE of course. An extra 200 MB of space will be required.

Worse, smaller browser suppliers would inevitably band together and file a class action suit to break the Google/Mozilla/Opera/Apple/Microsoft hegemony.

That image was Microsoft's example of what the interface might look like that they sent to the EU for examination. Presumably the real Win 7 flavor wouldn't use IE.

as long they could save couple of billions they would even put win a day with bill gates :)

The EU has sued Microsoft way too many times.  It's their OS and they can ship it with IE8 all they want.  My Windows 7 came with it, and I promptly installed Firefox and only use IE8 for compatibility issues.  Microsoft should be so kind as to ship with an Internet Browser, media player (WMP), etc.  Hell if I use them (eww WMP...) but they should be there for the basic users have something.  Sure the "choice" does the same thing, but what the heck gives a browser the ability to be up there for a choice?  It has to fit a certain % of use before it can be made a choice?  Just seems to weird since it is a Microsoft OS.  Should Apple not come with Safari and iTunes?