Win7 without IE, like a shining beacon of hope or something

(2 votes, average: 2.00 out of 5)

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So for all you techie computer geeks out there, who cares that Windows 7 — at least in Europe — is going to ship without Internet Explorer installed? At least, that’s what CNET is reporting today. After some anti-trust violations that put Microsoft in some hot seat, they decided to offer the EU version of Windows 7 without its flagship browser. Apparently, it’s not so integrated anymore.

That means European users don’t have to bother ever touching Internet Explorer just to get their favorite browser, though this also means they’d have to somehow get a copy of their favorite browser to install on their brand new PC. It’s like a sick version of Catch 22, where the dire consequences are being unable to access facebook.com/jonasbrosfannumber3.

The only problem I see with this is that, if PC sellers don’t install some other browser onto the computer before selling them, the not-so-tech-savvy people are going to be Internet-free! I mean, there’s a wealth of information on the web about using FTP, but what good is that if you don’t have a web browser to access those sites?

I think Microsoft is doing a good thing by making a non-Internet Explorer version, and I hope it’s released across the world. I mean, sure you’ll have your people who’d get their new computers, pre-installed by the seller with Google Chrome, or maybe use FTP and immediately download IE8, but I think the vast majority of Internet users out there shy away from Internet Explorer. It’s mostly because of the bad rap they got years ago. Remember when it was a piece of crap, and Netscape Navigator 4 was all the rage? Sure, times have changed, but I went straight to Mozilla Firefox from my Netscape, and only gave IE a chance when I was forced to at my workplace.

What are your thoughts? Do you use IE or not? If not, what do you use? Are you one of the few people out there who use Chrome? Why do you use that over other browsers? And who the hell uses Opera, anyway?