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Windows 8 browser choice update now available in Europe

Windows 8 browser choice update now available in Europe

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Microsoft has started updating Windows 8 in Europe to rollout a browser choice screen.

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Windows 8 browser choice
Windows 8 browser choice

A technical error may have led to 28 million Windows 7 SP1 machines skipping the browser choice screen, but Microsoft isn't making that mistake with Windows 8. After taking some heat from the European Commission over its browser choice commitment, Microsoft has started to push out an update to Windows 8 users in Europe. The Windows Update provides a browser choice Metro style application for Windows 8 users, with a choice of Opera, Chrome, Firefox, and Maxthon as the alternatives to Microsoft's Internet Explorer — scrolling right will provide even more choices.

The browser choice screen launches automatically the first time on reboot after it's installed and points users to the familiar browser choice website with a note about making an "important choice" to pick a browser. Like the previous versions for Windows 7, the update also removes the pinned Internet Explorer instance from the Windows 8 desktop mode task bar. Internet Explorer remains pinned to the Windows 8 Start Screen following the update, however.

Microsoft was forced to implement a browser choice screen in its Windows operating system after the European Union ruled that the company had abused its dominance in the market. Although rival firms have complained at the lack of a Metro browser choice in Windows 8, the new Windows Update should stem concerns over Windows 8 browser choice following a new investigation by the European Commission into Microsoft's recent failure to comply with the 2009 ruling.