WIndows 7 Will Not Have IE in European Editions

Microsoft has announced that it will ship European copies of Windows 7 without Internet Explorer.  This is an attempt to calm down European regulators who are investigating the company for abusing the browser market with pre-installed copies of Explorer.  Computer manufacturers are free to add IE back or install other browsers.  Consumers not so lucky to have a browser installed on their machines will find the Internet a little hard to reach without some extra effort.  They will have to get copies via CD, FTP, or from another source.  I think here is still command line FTP in the Windows DOS emulator.  I would imagine that the likelihood of a European-sold machine without some type of browser is small.  Manufacturers know that the Internet is ubiquitous so they will likely install something for customers to get to the web on their machines.  

Microsoft still has a basis to compete for browser share on the web.  I use Chrome most of the time, but there are still features it lacks such as the integration IE has with other Microsoft programs.  I can't print only a selection, or right click and automatically email a picture through Outlook in Chrome.  I usually open Explorer when I want that convenience.  It will be interesting to see what market share the other browsers get in Europe in light of this decision, or if it will even matter.