Why Microsoft Killed Windows 7 E
Contrary to what a majority of tech pundits have been assuming, Microsoft did not kill Windows 7 E because they had to comply with the EU’s rules. This was a conscious decision to take preemptive action by Microsoft. What does that mean?
Microsoft is moving slowly but surely to a services (Microsoft-hosted) model. Web browsers consititute the lowest common denominator in terms of access to these services. Moving forward Microsoft is going to have to support other browsers in allowing equal access to its services. Not supporting Firefox as well as it does IE is no longer an option regardless of EU rulings, because Firefox is here to stay. This does not mean that Microsoft is giving up (or will give up) on IE. They’ll drag it out with IE, and will push stability, security and standards instead of speed. IE is Microsoft’s safety raft, in case others try to lock it out of the online market.
So what does Microsoft gain by *gasp* providing a choice of browsers? Lots!
Google will launch (or attempt to launch) their Chrome OS next year. Google’s version of things is likely to blur the lines between OS & browser tremendously. When that happens, Microsoft will have the upper hand, because it can ask the EU to treat Google with the same set of rules that it uses to deal with Microsoft. Microsoft may be able to push to allow other browsers to replace the entire “engine” components of Chrome OS. And that may be impossible for Google to pull off. A similar strategy can now be employed against Apple’s bundling of Safari with OS X (or iPhone) or their iTunes+iPod platform that shuts out other vendors. Microsoft can even push Bing a bit further now. Given that Opera, Safari & Chrome all default to Google search and do not include Bing in their search engine options, Internet Explorer stands as the most open browser.
So by allowing customers to choose between browsers in retail versions of Windows 7 (a small percentage of total sales and OEMs have always had a choice, but are unlikely not to include IE), Microsoft has really put itself in a much stronger position on negotiation tables around the world.
