The ballot screen, see above, will be delivered via Windows Update. This means it looks as if Internet Explorer will initially be available after installing Windows 7. Indeed in the screenshot above they say…
"The browser ballot has unpinned Windows Internet Explorer from your taskbar"
What this means for people who use Windows 7 is that, at some point shortly after you begin using it you will be asked to choose which internet browser you would like to use. You may decide to choose Internet Explorer, and my guess is most people will, in which case it will switch it back on. However you may choose to opt for the also excellent Firefox or the minimalist Chrome.
The ballot feature a choice of 12 browsers; browsers are listed alphabetically by vendor, and are sorted into groups according to their popularity. Microsoft provides introductory information for each option. You can see a screen shot of the ballot screen here.
Microsoft (MSFT) was equally upbeat on the EC's decision. "We welcome today's announcement by the European Commission to move forward with formal market testing of Microsoft's proposal relating to web browser choice in Europe," General Counsel Brad Smith said in a statement. "We also welcome the opportunity to take the next step in the process regarding our proposal to promote interoperability with a broad range of our products."
There were, however, a few that were not so welcoming of the move. Top among them, ECIS, an industry group whose members include Oracle (ORCL), Sun (JAVA), IBM (IBM) and Nokia (NOK). "ECIS notes that the settlement does not appear to deal with the inadequacies of Microsoft's standards compliance, unfair pricing practices or other concerns related to patent abuse or standards manipulation," the group said in a statement.
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