After years of long running anti-trust battles with the European Union, Microsoft has dropped its internet browser, Internet Explorer from the next release of Windows. Windows 7 will be the first installment of the world's most widely used operating system to give users a choice of internet browser.
Internet Explorer is used for about 60 per cent of global internet traffic, Mozilla's Firefox about 30 per cent and Opera four per cent, just ahead of Google's Chrome and Apple’s Safari.
The European Commission has so far slapped fines totalling €1.68 billion ($2.9 billion) on the US software giant for infringing EU antitrust rules. Internet Explorer's major competitors, Firefox, Opera, Safari and Chrome welcomed the move heralding a new chapter in a move towards fairer competition in the internet browser stakes.
Microsoft now proposes to install a "ballot screen" that would allow users to set up rival browsers on Windows 7 and disable Internet Explorer if they wanted, a remedy the Commission had suggested in its January 2009 charge sheet.
Windows 7 officially goes on sale in October worldwide.
(Source: news.com.au)
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