With its plans now centred on creating a ballot screen where users can choose which browsers to install, Microsoft has no plans to ever ship the browserless 'E' versions of Windows 7.
However, the 'E' versions are still listed for sale on several versions of Microsoft's European online store.
The software maker did not have a clear explanation of why those versions are still listed, weeks after the company said it would ship the same version globally.
Many non-English sites, including Spanish, Dutch and German versions, list only the 'E' or 'N' versions of the operating system. As it did with Vista, Microsoft does plan to continue selling an 'N' version in Europe, which has the media player removed.
"Microsoft is working to refresh its international online store sites, just like retailers are now," the software maker said in a statement.
In any case, Microsoft is being clear that it has no plans to ship a browserless version — those that pre-order the 'E' version will get the standard version.
As first reported by ZDNet UK's sister site, CNET News.com, Microsoft told computer makers in June that it planned to ship Windows 7 without a browser in Europe to try to address regulators' issues.
However, both competitors and regulators expressed concerns with that plan. Ultimately, Microsoft reversed itself and said it was open to the 'ballot screen' idea where consumers can choose which browsers they wish to install.
Earlier this week, Microsoft said it would end on 1 September an offer to European buyers to get the full version of Windows 7 for the upgrade price, a relic of the browserless plan in which Microsoft said it would sell only the full version of the operating system.
Talkback
Type of differences all the time when it comes to searching corporate web sites looking for drivers, flash Roms, or information for some specific reason, and its annoying to find that its not held on the UK variant of the web site but can be found easily on the US one.
This just adds to the overall complexity and risk of trying to conduct a sensitive operation like flashing a Rom chip with the correct UK firmware, because as most of you know when you get to the US site the firmware you need is under a US serial number. :(
Also when a new driver or firmware does arrive it lands on the companies origin site's first, if they can't keep the variant sites information readily updated often enough then why have the bloody thing in the first place?
These issue's are still with us today, when they should have being sorted out a long time ago.