Microsoft Confirms IE8 Can be Removed from Windows 7
Microsoft's Windows 7 development team yesterday confirmed that users will be able to remove Internet Explorer 8, as well as several other Microsoft applications, from Windows 7.
This appears to be a major step by the company in addressing the long standing anti-trust complaints of bundling their applications with Windows, and may account in part for the recent scaling back by the European Union in its monitoring of the software giant.
Following the recent findings by Chris Holmes and Bryant Zadegan that IE8 can be removed from Windows 7 build 7048, Jack Mayo, group program manager at Microsoft, confirmed that Windows 7 has expanded the number of Microsoft applications which can be turned off.
In a post on the Engineering Windows 7 blog Friday, Mayo explained: "In addition to the features that were already available to turn on or off in Windows Vista, we've added the following features to the list in Windows 7:"
- Windows Media Player
- Windows Media Center
- Windows DVD Maker
- Internet Explorer 8
- Windows Search
- Handwriting Recognition (through the Tablet PC Components option)
- Windows Gadget Platform
- Fax and Scan
- XPS Viewer and Services (including the Virtual Print Driver)
Important to recognize is that while these applications can be turned off, meaning they are not loaded by the operating system or available for use, the files remain present on the hard disk in a staging area so that they can be easily turned back on again without the need to use installation media. This ability to turn applications on and off is available at both setup and post setup.
As we pointed out earlier this year, IE8 is definitely an important milestone, and this new policy of allowing their bundled applications to be turned off seems to be the right step by Microsoft in creating a more level playing field for third parties on the Windows platform.
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So far, so good - now let them add a way to take the useless junk of the hard drive.
Woo hoo! It's about time! I mean, as a developer that specifically writes web applications using Microsoft tech, IE is the LAST browser I use, and that is only to ensure the pages are rendered the way I intended them to be. IE is only ever used in my workflow to make an exception css since it fails to conform to standards as well as Firefox does.
Good start indeed. I don't understand how such a great company like Microsoft would ignore standards so blatantly.
@Wayne John
Setting the option to "not use" IE isn't the same as MS removing it completely - it will still be the default browser for the operating system. This in practically no way changes the average user's experience. If the user doesn't know or about the issues with using IE, or even that there are better alternatives, they will still default to using IE.
Good start indeed. I don't understand how such a great company like Microsoft would ignore standards so blatantly.
I don't have IE in windows features
Great start.Thanks.
Windows 7 Ultima is fantastic!
I used Vista and was bitterly disapointed in it. Enough said it proberbly was good foe shop applications.
Windows 7 even in beta verson on test peformed well as did the applications even in the odd crash if one waiter for re-startand the re constuted program to get up and running.
"CONGTATULATIONS' FROM A VERRY DISAPOINTED VISTA user. Bill W.
So far, so good