gHacks Technology News | Latest Tech News, Software And Tutorials » windows 7 europe http://www.ghacks.net A technology news blog covering software, mobile phones, gadgets, security, the Internet and other relevant areas. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 09:52:46 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Windows 7 Family Packs And Upgrade Editions In Europehttp://www.ghacks.net/2009/08/25/windows-7-family-packs-and-upgrade-editions-in-europe/ http://www.ghacks.net/2009/08/25/windows-7-family-packs-and-upgrade-editions-in-europe/#comments Tue, 25 Aug 2009 04:29:34 +0000 Martin Brinkmann http://www.ghacks.net/?p=15710 windows7With the start of Microsoft’s new operating system around the corner it was time to clear some confusion that build up over the last couple of months. The confusion could mainly be attributed to Windows 7E, a version that has been specifically designed by Microsoft to meet the demands of the European Union. Microsoft’s initial plans were to ship Windows 7 without Internet Explorer – actually without Internet browser at all – in Europe. This did mean that European customers were not able to upgrade to Windows 7. It also meant that they needed to install a web browser. On the positive side pre-order prices for the full version of Windows 7 in many European countries were equal to upgrade versions in the United States or Canada.

A new proposal to display a browser ballot screen to users after installation was announced by Microsoft a month ago which turned all things upside down once again. Windows 7E got canned and Microsoft announced plans to ship the same Windows 7 editions worldwide. This meant that European customers were once again able to purchase Windows 7 Upgrades or full retail versions of the operating system.

Customers who have already pre-order Windows 7E in the European Union will now receive a full version of Windows 7 (which includes Internet Explorer). The price will remain the same for these customers and anyone else who is purchasing Windows 7 before September 1.

Microsoft mentioned in the same blog post that the Windows 7 Family Pack will be sold in seven European countries as well as the United States and Canada. The Family Pack ships with three Windows 7 Home Premium licenses that can be installed on computer systems in the same household. The European countries that will also receive the Windows 7 Family Pack are the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Windows 7N will still be sold in Europe. This version of Windows 7 comes without Windows Media Player. Good news for European customers. Anyone who has not pre-ordered Windows 7 yet should do so before September 1 to benefit from the reduced pricing for the full version of Windows 7.

via Windows Team Blog

]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2009/08/25/windows-7-family-packs-and-upgrade-editions-in-europe/feed/ 3 New Microsoft Proposal About Windows 7Ehttp://www.ghacks.net/2009/07/25/new-microsoft-proposal-about-windows-7e/ http://www.ghacks.net/2009/07/25/new-microsoft-proposal-about-windows-7e/#comments Sat, 25 Jul 2009 10:15:15 +0000 Martin Brinkmann http://www.ghacks.net/?p=14750 windows 7Windows 7E is the version of the Windows 7 operating system that will be sold – as of now – in all countries of the European Union. It is basically a version of the Windows 7 operating system without Internet Explorer. This has caused quite some concern by users in the European Union as they face several problems that users of regular Windows 7 editions do not face including the impossibility to perform an upgrade of Windows Vista to Windows 7 or the problem that arises from not having an Internet browser.

Microsoft’s new proposal could ultimately remove Windows 7E from the operating system landscape. They suggest to provide a ballot screen after installation giving users the choice to install a web browser of their choice from a selection of possible alternatives including Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera and Safari.

A mockup screen was posted that visualizes how the ballot screen could look like (please note that the browserballot.eu website is currently not working)

browser ballot

Additional blank spots are reserved on the right side of the screen that could be filled with additional web browsers if requested or needed. It should be noted that this new proposal would mean that Internet Explorer would be installed as the default web browser during installation of the operating system and that the ballot screen would be displayed afterwards to give the user the option to install another web browser and make it the default browser on the computer system.

Microsoft’s proposal is available at the Microsoft Presspass website.

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