[angkor]

As I stated earlier, assuming you can get to the internet without IE installed on a new computer...

Well indeed you can.

You can configure your TCP/IP settings with the DOS command "ipconfig".

Then you can fire up DOS "ftp" and download Firefox from the Mozilla ftp server:

Index of ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/

Once downloaded via DOS ftp, you install Firefox.

So unless the EU considers MS-DOS under Windows to be "anticompetetive" - or maybe that Windows itself is "a monopoly" - you can indeed make use of many browsers without resorting to IE in any way shape or form, ever.

You can also delete the IE icons from you Windows Deskstop and Start Menu (as I did long ago) and be done with it almost forever.

The EU is fighting an amazingly stupid battle that was decided by the American computer user (aka "the American computer buyer") more than a decade ago, back in the days when there were first several GUIs (VisiOn, etc) and later many browsers (Netscape, Mosaic, etc).

[CaspersGh0sts]

Well indeed you can.

You can configure your TCP/IP settings with the DOS command "ipconfig". Then you can fire up DOS "ftp" and download Firefox from the Mozilla ftp server: Index of ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/ Once downloaded via DOS ftp, you install Firefox.

Oh, I know you can. :) But that's an awful lot of work for your average computer user. And let's face it, forcing someone to go back to MS-DOS is a bit antiquated in today's computer world.

I know we're on the same page. I just think it's absolute foolishness for the EU courts to even be talking in these terms. As so many others have stated, there's no shortage of free browsers out there.