A few weeks ago, Microsoft announced that Windows 7 would not ship with Internet Explorer 8 within the European Union. This is to comply with EU demands following the anti-trust case some time back. On the immediate face of this seem like good news for users of other browsers - but is it?

How much will actually change?

Just when it seemed like Microsoft's European anti-trust tangle on browser choice in Windows was over, trouble is stirring again. Opera Software has told The Reg that it has informed the European Union of a possible problem with a fix that was designed to make Internet Explorer in Windows comply with EU antitrust law. Opera has also informed Microsoft.

As many believe, web users and innovators emerged winners upon the completion of the European Commission’s investigation into Microsoft’s browser-bundling practices. Microsoft will now offer users of Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 a screen presenting a choice of Web browsers.

Because a large portion of end user machines attached to the Internet are Windows machines, Web developers have no choice but to develop Web applications that, while they don't necessarily rely on Microsoft technology, do have to work properly with Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser. That usually means developers require a Windows installation at their disposal.

This is a Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 on Linux with Wine howto. This guide shows you how to install and run IE 8 on Linux with wine. The guide also has code samples and screenshots and step by step instructions. Windows Internet Explorer 8 is the latest web browser developed by Microsoft in the long running Internet Explorer browser series.

The European Commission slapped Microsoft with a fine of EUR 561 million for breaching a 2009 settlement over the bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows. Under this agreement, the company promised to display a “browser choice” screen on Windows installs in Europe, inviting users to choose other browsers in addition to the company’s own program.

Free Software Foundation Europe today announces that it will support the European Commission's antitrust investigation against Microsoft and to this effect it has formally requested to be admitted as an interested third party.

Microsoft's concession to offer a so-called "browser ballot" in the European version of Windows 7 has been covered extensively. European buyers of Windows 7 will, except when the OEM has a separate deal, be presented with a choice of browsers, ordered by estimated market share.

Opponents of that proposal, including Mozilla and Opera, have criticized the fact that the ballot screen is found within Internet Explorer, which is still bundled with Windows, and the fact that any alternative browser must be downloaded, which many users will be too lazy to do. So why are Mozilla and Opera being so reticent in the wake of the European announcement?