Microsoft drops "E" version of Windows

On Friday, Microsoft backtracked on its plan to ship a browser-free version of its upcoming operating system, Windows 7, in Europe.

Deputy general counsel Dave Heiner revealed the change in plan, saying "we will ship the same version of Windows 7 in Europe in October that we will ship in the rest of the world."

Back in June, Microsoft that it would launch the new OS in Europe without Internet Explorer, in a bid to appease EU antitrust regulators, who were looking at the bundling of the browser in Windows.

But European commissioners were lukewarm on that idea, saying they thought "consumers should be offered a choice of browser, not that Windows should be supplied without a browser at all."

Last week, Microsoft pitched a new idea to the EU, saying it would offer a "ballot screen" in Windows 7 that would let people choose any browser they like. In dropping Windows 7 E, Microsoft is betting that the regulators will go for this plan.

"One reason we decided not to ship Windows 7 E is concerns raised by computer manufacturers and partners. Several worried about the complexity of changing the version of Windows that we ship in Europe if our ballot screen proposal is ultimately accepted by the Commission and we stop selling Windows 7 E," Heiner wrote.