Microsoft: Lots to turn off in Windows 7
It turns out it is not just Internet Explorer that users will be able to turn off in Windows 7.
In a blog posting on Friday, Microsoft noted that, with Windows 7, customers will have the option of disabling a number of features of the operating system, should they so choose.
Testers had noticed that users of recent Windows 7 builds could turn off the Web browser, in addition to many other things that were already part of a "Windows Features" dialog box. However, in its blog, Microsoft noted that there are a number of things that users could not turn off in Windows Vista, but will be able to in the final version of Windows 7. Among the new options, users will now be able to turn off things such as Windows Media Player, Windows Media Center, Windows Search, the XPS Viewer and several others.
Build 7048 of Windows 7 includes Internet Explorer as one of many Windows components that can be turned on or off via a Windows Features dialog box.
(Credit: Chris123nt.com)"If a feature is deselected, it is not available for use," Microsoft said in the blog. "This means the files (binaries and data) are not loaded by the operating system (for security-conscious customers) and not available to users on the computer. These same files are staged so that the features can easily be added back to the running OS without additional media. This staging is important feedback we have received from customers who definitely do not like to dig up the installation DVD."
Microsoft declined to comment on what role, if any, antitrust and regulatory issues played in the decision to expand the number of Windows components that can be disabled. However, a number of the programs on the list are things that have drawn regulatory ire, such as the browser and media player, as well as the XPS technology which has been seen as a rival to Adobe's PDF.
With Windows 7, Microsoft has also stripped several programs out of the operating system entirely. The photo gallery, e-mail, and movie-making programs that had been part of Windows will now be available only as separate Windows Live downloads. With Windows Vista, Microsoft included a version in the operating system, but then offered for download an optional Windows Live service-connected version.
During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried has changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley. These days, most of her attention is focused on Microsoft. E-mail Ina.
It is the people who have the means to solve their problems, yet they would rather *****, that I would like to see walk off a cliff.
While you do save alot of money and don't have to deal with crapware, you cant build laptops so....
"Does this mean that I can finally run Windows Update manually without having to start Internet Explorer first?"
Considering Vista and Windows 7 don't need Internet Explorer for Windows Update anyway, I'd have to say yes without a doubt.
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http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=build+your+own+laptop&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=
You can buy a barebones laptop (case, display, motherboard) and outfit it however you like.
I don't count barebones laptops. They're not for the average consumer... there's really nothing you can do but purchase a laptop from a decent brand and take it off manually. I would NOT recommend any average consumer building a barebones... there's too many risk factors associated with it.
http://www.pcdecrapifier.com/
I had a hard time renaming Windows Media Player's exe file so that it wouldn't annoyingly automatically launch when I used the multimedia keys on my keyboard with another media player app. This should make it much easier.
I wish they'd retrofit Vista with this feature.
Did you try editing the registry key for your autolaunch buttons so that it points to another app and not windows media player.
And when Steve Jobs leaves Apple for good, maybe we Mac users will be able to increase the dpi of the interface, add skins to applications, etc. But until then, that control freak will continue the "my way or the highway" methodology he loves, just as Gates kept pushing the "MS must control the world" thinking.
You gotta give props to a man who not only pledged a sizable portion of his wealth but got the worlds second richest man to pledge a sizable portion of his wealth to benefit the worlds poor and undereduacated.
The best around?! He and his company, Microsoft have foisted third-rate software on a general ignorant public for 25 years. They engaged in fascist-like business practices. They bought or stole every good idea they've produced. And even when they did that, they seemed to have a special talent for making a good idea suck when they put it into practice. The world would be a better place without companies like Microsoft.
And as for Bill Gates' charity contributions, don't forget that he got there by dirty business practices. And if you had over a billion dollars, you could afford to give millions away too!
However stripping out key items and making them a "Download Only" option is discouraging. It puts OS X ahead of the curve. Especially when MS pulls the plug on support for 7 and some folks out there have legacy computers that have a job to do.
It is nice to finally disable IE though
you use Firefox IETab
then ditch that idea
you are going to have to keep IE even they let you remove it
You don't know how much "uninstalling" uninstalls. Steam uses the IE rendering engine, as do a few features of the Windows OS. I bet if they let you "disable" IE, the rendering engine is probably still there.
That said, IE Tab could be coded down the line to see a way to be used with IE disabled.
And, since Exchange is used by almost every business and institution that isn't small, lots of customers out there are using or could be using OWA. So, if MS is going down this road (not trying to push IE so hard), they really ought to consider making OWA work better outside of the IE sandbox.
Not only can any program embedding Trident not use the installed version of IE but it should not.
It has always been a foolish and more difficult task to not write to standards.
The one problem with bundling trident as a 3rd party vendor library, aside from the problem of having multiple versions in your path, is that it would be more difficult to push out security updates to the library.
Writing against the current version and expecting it to behave identically in five years time probably will be.
I'm really liking this =]
The only reason I like Windows (including Vista) is because it rocks the socks off of any other attempt at an OS out there including (freqently used also) OSX. When apple lets me chose the hardware I put in my computer, and gets rid of their software licensing restrictions, I will give them another chance. I guess they will also have to do something about the fact that their product is completely unusable on a large scale in a business setting.
The user doesn't care about benchmarks, the user cares about how fast it feels to them which, ironically, can require speed sacrifices in some areas.
You need to lay off the pipe.
Vista and 7 are just pale imitations of OS X and Linux.
LOL.
If you would have actually seen Vista, you would know that Windows update does not use IE anymore.....
I bet you have a LART and everything, don't you.
99.9% of Windows users think that computers are magic, asking these people to go into the registry is just asking for trouble.
I run two laptops and, hardware wise, the newer one (with Vista) is a generation ahead of the older one (with XP) yet the performance 'feel' that I get in day-to-day use is about the same.
This is a good change, now, how about letting me add third party software security updates to my automatic updates?
There is a need to have updates all in one place. Of course MS users are used to such hideous inefficiencies, but that doesn't make it a good idea.
It's called choice. I realise as an advocate of Apple you aren't familiar with that concept.
Then I think of all the future money I will get to make going out to fix these errors, Oh well, life's a Beach!
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No, it is a security nightmare. It is a very dumb idea to integrate a browser so deep into an os. A secure os should consider the internet the enemy and not get all cozy with it.
Thought IE had fewer reported security flaws, it also took longer to patch those flaws. FF had less unpatched than IE and yet IE had fewer at the start.
Also, FF is open source, that means anyone can see the code and report the flaws legally. If someone looks at code for IE without complete clearance from MS, he can't legally report it. That means more flaws will always be reported for FF than IE unless there just aren't any flaws in FF at all.
Odd logic.
IE is attacked more because IE doesn't have proper default settings.
You need to disassemble it and work through it.
"Er, yeah, we're just going to pull out of on of our most important markets and devalue your shares by at least 40%. OK?"
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by mikerapino
March 9, 2009 5:29 AM PDT
- I am curious how they are doing this. In the past "disabling" IE was impossible not just because Microsoft didn't want it disabled; but also because you could bring any Windows Explorer (file) window up and type a web URL and it would browse.
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Showing 1 of 2 pages (108 Comments)That sounds like a huge code change...