Microsoft will provide browser ballot in Windows 7

Windows 7 is on its way and Microsoft has planned to provide a browser ballot in Windows 7 favored by the European Commission.  The browser ballot will let users decide which browser they would like to have and the ballot includes Firefox, Safari, Google Chrome, or they can leave Internet Explorer 8 as their browser.

Microsoft was planning on producing a browserless version of Windows 7 just for Europe but they feared that it would cause confusion for those who are not able to download a browser.  Microsoft General counsel Mr. Brad Smith said ” Under our new proposal, European consumers who buy a new windows PC with Internet Explorer set as their default browser would be shown a ‘ballot screen’ from which they could, if they wished, easily install competing browsers from the Web.” But, he added, “PC manufacturers building machines for the European market will continue to ship (browserless) versions of Windows 7 until that the commission fully reviews our proposals and determines whether they satisfy our obligations under European law.”

In my opinion, if the European Commission makes Microsoft produce Windows 7 without a browser, then Windows 7 will be a complete fail; in a recent study, 1/3 of Europeans have never used the web, so if a European is buying his/her first computer, where are they supposed to get a browser? So do you think Europe is taking this a little too far with the whole “monopoly” thing?