Sea Dog wrote:
Kurt Ullman wrote:
In article ,
aemeijers wrote:

Unless he is buying it in Europe- to satisfy the anti-MS PTB over
there, they plan to release it w/o a browser. Not sure how they
expect people to download patches or a different browser, but hey,
what the PTB want, the PTB get.

The PTB just said that MS can't include it free as part of the OS
and that it can't be an integrated part of the OS. But others can
include the browser. For instance, if Dell wants to include Firefox on
their boxes, they could. If I read the release correctly, the computer
makers can include a stand alone version of IE if they want to. It is
just that MS can't require they take the browser as part of the OS.

Download live CD image of Linux Mint, burn to CD, put in DVD drive and
restart your computer. Make sure BIOS is set to boot from DVD drive.
See what a good OS is. It won't change anything on your hard drive or
alter your Windows system. When your done take out the CD and reboot
and your back to using Windows again.

http://www.linuxmint.com/oldreleases.php




Trivial for you and me, not so trivial for a casual user. And for
somebody buying a new PC, unless they have connectivity and instructions
on how to FTP from a mirror site, just how would they download it
without a browser? (Not that anyone should connect a new PC without a
firewall, etc, in place, but I digress...) If MS really starts selling
naked Win7 in Europe, folks there that don't have access to another PC
will have to depend on manufacturer or dealer to either stash it on the
hard drive, or provide a CD.

I miss the old days when they provided a semi-current software bundle
with new PCs, and didn't assume everyone had a broadband connection, and
had the skill set and time to spend 3-4 hours downloading MORE friggin'
software and patches before machine was safely usable. I almost suspect
MS and the others are still chasing the old dream of people paying a
monthly fee to use software, just like they pay a monthly fee to do
pretty much anything these days. Of course, if they did get their dream,
we all wouldn't need PCs that were more powerful than mainframes from 20
years ago, with more storage. A 300 dollar thin client would be all we
needed.
--
aem sends....