Comments on: Microsoft may let Windows 7 users turn browser off

Testers say post-beta versions of the new operating system have added an option to turn off the built-in Internet Explorer 8 Web browser.

[hunkyboi69]

It does make me laugh that the vast majority of posters here are thick and have jumped on the bandwagon, like they do with everything. Bunch of sheep.

At the end of the day, it's Microsofts OS, if they want to include THEIR web browser with it, they are perfectly within their rights and there is nothing 'illegal' about it. If they wish to allow you to remove it, then so be it.

I don't see the issue to be honest and don't start going on about monopolies and suchlike because that doesn't cut it, there are plenty of alternative browsers out there, there is plenty of choice.

And as for buying a Mac and using OS X...first of all I doubt most of you, judging by the lack of intelligence in the comments, actually have a job good enough to be able to afford a Mac and secondly I don't understand the mentality of some of the people here, you bash MS and favour Apple, which is a much more closed company, which integrates Safari (webkit) and Quicktime extremely deeply into their OS, ties it's OS to it's hardware, borks most updates and makes many 'choices' for you, generally bad choices then refuses to admit there is a problem and hides away.
Wonderful example of a company....not. And then you have the issue that OS X is just a big hacked up ex OPENSTEP mess destroyed by Apple.
So anybody with half a brain installed would not buy a Mac.

MS on the other hand have tried to improve Windows and certainly has if you use the x64 versions... but just because you have a crap computer that won't run it properly it doesn't mean that the operating system is crap, it means your computer is crap.

People should be more receptive for change, if you want to stay with obselete old XP, good for you...but the sensible ones don't.

[PlutoDelic]

I removed totally IE5 from a Select Edition (internal) version of Windows 2000 w/ SP4. I can clearly say that i even felt stability increases up to 20%. It's just sad that i had to migrate to XP just because half of my software that i used, especially Audio Production ones, didn't support Win2000 anymore. I miss it honestly, the best Microsoft product so far, it might be unimaginable, but i used it until 2007.

[Seaspray0]

"...i even felt stability increases up to 20%." Obiwan, You felt a disturbance in the force?

[PlutoDelic]

oh btw, i remember when i tried to type any website/ip on windows explorer so it can switch to IE, it said "save file as", so all it did was just creating a http request, it's true, it was not 100% removed, but you could feel the major change, as i said, if not 100% then 99% at leeeeast.

[sderf]

It's about time that I get a choice
sderf

[Brian]

Where's the option to turn Windows off ?

Oh yeh, at the Apple store !!

Once you go Mac, you don't go back!

[gofalcons]

wheres the option to turn off idiotic troll comments like yours Brian.....

[Seaspray0]

gofalcons. Once brian goes troll, he never goes back.

[proxyadmin]

the OS argument is stupid. you guys have no vested interest in the companies and you are raising flags as if you belong to some fan boy camps.

OS is OS, if you can use it well, it won't crash. if using an OS is too hard for you, then you should consider just going back to the typewriter.

I'm interested in how websites maintain function with browsers and not how it gets packaged with OSes. Use the right tool to do the right job. simple as that.

[pentest]

Until MS takes an application out of the OS Windows will have major, uncontrollable security issues.

No OS should be dependent on a user land application, but especially one that has nothing to do with OS functionality.

[DrtyDogg]

Isn't the only problem with bundling IE with windows that it works fine for most people? I mean really. The people that really care have already switched. So the only ones left are the people that just want to start their computer and browse the web. They don't care if it is open source or if it conforms to all published standards, all they care is that they type facebook and what comes up is facebook. This is really a non issue to the majority of people in the world, it is only us geeks that sit around and argue about it.

My wife is one of these people whatever computer she is on she wants to hit the internet icon and be able to get to her favourite sites. The thing about it is it doesn't matter what computer she is on in the house it works and she is happy. On either of the Ubuntu boxes she hit's the Firefox Icon, she can browse the web. On the macbook or my hackintosh she hits the same Firefox Icon and she gets to her site. On her Vista laptop she hits IE and again she gets to the web. My point is that she really couldn't give a sh*t what got her to her websites. They are all free applications that do the same thing.

As a developer I understand the desire for complete standards compliance which no browser is close to and please don't respond with Acid test results as that is not the end all be all for w3c standards. But as a web "consumer" I can enjoy the fact that we aren't just sitting on our standards and are constantly trying to progress.

Sorry for the long winded response, but please as a fellow geek enjoy the variety we have as the web would be boring if we stopped with the current standards.

[7aji88]

Don't you need IE to view help and support files?? Maybe it only removes the browser, but other IE components stay for other system programs to run fine.

[rapier1]

You need Trident - which is the underlying HTML rendering engine of IE. Basically, IE is the user interface to Trident much like Safari is the interface to WebKit or Firefox is to Gecko. If an application requires Trident (and there are a few) then you can't just replace Trident with Gecko unless the APIs are identical or unless you have a shim layer (think cygwin).

[Angmarr]

I admire Microsoft for this step, Good job.
I think I'll still keep it on even though I'm all about Firefox, Always a good thing to have the 2 top browsers running = )

[ishan]

This is nothing new, users had a choice to remove IE from windows for a while, but it always resides in windows, even after removal. Hope it will be better this time.

[scotpgos]

I'm concerned by articles describing disabling vs./and/or removing IE8. Here's why. I have Vista Home on my laptop. I only use Firefox. However, IE7 is collecting browsing data. I found out by deleting files, cookies, etc. from IE. IE7 is part of my OS, not removable, and collects new data each time I use Firefox. It's SPYWARE. I think it should be made mandatory that IE be completely removed from all aspects of Windows 7 and allowed only by specific request of the licensee.

[Rico409]

well with the internet continually evolving -with stuff like html 5 and svg rendering etc. -,
microsoft knows how far behind they are. case-in-point would be: IE on the acid3 test :-(
even though they probably could fix IE if they wanted to, who really know why they dont?
anyway, killing IE would be bad for business, but letting the worlds most popular browser
continue to disrespect internet standards is doing bad for the internet. im happy that
at least windows 7 user can enjoy the internet without IE.

[Rico409]

well with the internet continually evolving -with stuff like html 5 and svg rendering etc. -,
microsoft knows how far behind they are. case-in-point would be: IE on the acid3 test :-(
even though they probably could fix IE if they wanted to, who really know why they dont?
anyway, killing IE would be bad for business, but letting the worlds most popular browser
continue to disrespect internet standards is doing bad for the internet. im happy that
at least windows 7 user can enjoy the internet without IE.