Les Actualites – Computing Technology, Software & Operating Systems

We have reported about the groundbreaking change in the Windows 7 release candidate that allowed users to uninstall Internet Explorer. While uninstallation was probably the wrong choice of words as it merely meant that the executable of Internet Explorer would be removed from the operating system it did prepare users for things to come. In an article published today at the Windows Engineering blog it became known that additional features of Windows 7 can be turned off by the user.

The release candidate for Windows 7 offers an extended Windows Features control panel which can be accessed from the Programs and Features menu. New features have been added to that control panel that can be removed from the computer system including media features like Windows Media Center, Windows Media Player or Windows DVD Maker, the indexing service, Windows Search or the Microsoft .net Framework 3.51.

Deselecting a feature has the following consequences:

If a feature is deselected, it is not available for use. 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.

This is a very interesting move by Microsoft that should please advanced users who usually rely on third party software instead of Microsoft programs.

Source: Windows 7 News

You might have noticed the legal battle between Microsoft and the European Union about the integration of Internet Explorer in the Windows operating system.The European Union is pressuring Microsoft to provide alternatives or ship the next installment without Internet Explorer much like the Media Player-less installations that are available in the European Union as well.

The guys over at AeroXperience seem to have discovered that Microsoft is indeed offering an option to remove Internet Explorer 8 from the Windows 7 operating system. To be precise: The option to remove Internet Explorer 8 has been found in Windows 7 build 7048. It was not there in the beta release of Windows 7 which seems to suggest that Microsoft is working on a way to comply with the European Union in the matter.

It should also be noted that uninstalling Internet Explorer 8 from the Windows 7 installation will not remove all of its components from the computer system. Microsoft has integrated Internet Explorer into the Windows operating system that it would practically require a full rewrite to get rid of it completely.

Only the actual Internet Explorer executable will be removed from the Windows 7 build if the option to remove Internet Explorer 8 is selected. Here are the steps to undertake to remove Internet Explorer from Windows 7:

• Enter the Control Panel and look at “All Control Panel Options”
• Click “Programs and Features”
• In the left sidebar, click “Turn Windows Features On or Off” (you will be thrown a UAC prompt if you elevated UAC)
• Wait for the list to load.
• Look for Internet Explorer 8 in the list and uncheck it.
• Click OK. You will see a prompt notifying you of a reboot.
• The machine will reboot once, configure things, and reboot again.

There is no word yet if the uninstallation of Internet Explorer in Windows 7 affects any other areas of the operating system. Several components but also third party tools use the rendering engine of Internet Explorer.

Source: Windows 7 News