Well, Microsoft agreed to do it. No matter how stupid it may seem, they signed on to do it and it didn't happen.

All over IE being pre-installed on a fraction of Windows 7 machines?

IE is trash and has no business being installed on any machine but that fine seems a BIT hefty.

Microsoft thought it had put its regulatory woes behind it with the 2009 settlement in which it paid €860 million and promised to give Windows users the option of choosing another browser rather than having Internet Explorer automatically installed.

Just like what Tom Warren said, it's just a **** up and a dumbass movement on their part not to follow through.

I actually use IE

This is stupid.

And Chrome/Opera/Firefox>>>>>>>>>>>

If this was implemented I wonder how this would affect Microsoft's market share. I figured the reason IE always has a huge chunk was because it is preinstalled and the average consumer is too technologically incompetent to install a new browser.

No. It was a dumb ass move for Microsoft to sign a dumbass agreement.

Double negative.

It was a mistake Microsoft agreed on. It was their fault but it's not the thing you guys are thinking.

Absolutely ludicrous

Not everyone is going to care about which internet browser they should use, other than neckbeards who spend the good majority of their day creating unfunny memes. Besides it only takes ~1 minute to find a browser that you want.

Ch. They agreed to do it so they could be more "open". Not a mistake. It's not EU's fault that Microsoft can't agree on something that they want. If it was so dumb, they shouldn't have went and signed it. Simple as that.
It's still a legally bound agreement.

"It said the U.S. software company had broken a legally binding commitment made in 2009 to ensure that consumers had a choice of how they access the internet, rather than defaulting to Microsoft's Explorer browser."

It is dumb. Why the hell would they agree on "having choices" (quotation because users CAN install alternative browsers, they are just lazy to do it) instead of trying to improve Internet Explorer? Having choices is great but improving your product is better and will give them stronger credibility. Windows is great but IE sucked until 9. 10 is a huge step up. They should've thought about not signing the deal since they could have instead improve their browser earlier than that stupid "choose your browser" option. It's stupid. It may be great for consumers but the fact that they know some people hates Internet Explorer why didn't they just improve it earlier in the first place? It's their product. They should sell it not offer alternatives during start up.

It's stupid for Microsoft's part and the guy that made the deal.

Ridiculous. And even more ridiculous on MS's part.

And to the people oblivious to IE's usage on a large scale consumerism should do some research. Most major companies whose software facilities are still reliant on IE since most of their systems works better with MS default browser.

It's not about laziness

If IE is pre-installed, it is already given a huge advantage compared to other browsers, and that's not considered open and fair. Plus, you guys would actually be surprised at the number of people opting to just use the inferior IE out of convenience (and lack of info on other browsers).

Who cares about what's fair? IE is Microsoft's program that they include on their OS. If people want to use Chrome by default, they can buy a Chromebook. You don't see Mac's coming with a choice of browser, they come with Safari.

Microsoft are fools for signing this.

So basically, Steve Ballmer considering a company wouldn't let a deal like this happen without its CEO's approval.

A bit of a mess.

It's not that all people are too dumb or too lazy to download another program, it's just the fact that microsoft pre installs IE on all of them and signed an agreement to not do that, which they broke.

Think about all of the libraries, internet cafe and other public places providing computer access, most contain IE as the only browser and people are forced to use that browser. Think of the old people who don't have a clue about technology but can just occasionally use the internet for mail or facebook.

IE sucks and should just never exist again.

Actually IE10 isn't bad, but even if they make it the best browser, the people still will bash the brand "Internet Explorer"