What will be the fate of Windows 7E?

You might have heard about Microsoft’s latest proposal to provide Widows 7 European users the option to select the browser of their choice. While many would have appreciated this move from the IT giants. Based on this proposal, a few questions might have arise in minds of the various people. Among these questions, one is What will happen to the Windows 7 E?. When and will it end?  In this post I attempt to inform you what will be the fate of European edition of Windows 7 as gathered from Microsoft.

Brad Smith, Microsoft’s General Counsel enlightened in relation to this very important question. He said until the Commission approves the proposal (hopefully), PC manufacturers in Europe will be required to ship Windows 7 E. His  exact words were:

As we said June 11, we currently are providing PC manufacturers in Europe with E versions of Windows 7, which we believe are fully compliant with European law. PC manufacturers building machines for the European market will continue to be required to ship E versions of Windows 7 until such time that the Commission fully reviews our proposals and determines whether they satisfy our obligations under European law. If the Commission approves this new proposal, Microsoft will begin work at that time to begin implementation of it with PC manufacturers

Smith said that if the proposal is approved,  it would be completely fulfilling the European Competition Law and will be good news for the consumers based in Europe as well as the Microsoft’s partner in the IT industry. He said:

We believe that if ultimately accepted, this proposal will fully address the European competition law issues relating to the inclusion of Internet Explorer in Windows and interoperability with our high-volume products. This would mark a big step forward in addressing a decade of legal issues and would be good news for European consumers and our partners in the industry

It remains to be seen how will the European Commission will respond to this proposal. Let us hope for the best. You might consider reading the following related posts:

• Windows 7 for Europe to allow users to select the browser of their choosing