After all the hoopla, hand wringing and swearing (at the EU Eurocrats), there might never be a Windows E edition without a browser!
“Under our new proposal, among other things, European consumers who buy a new Windows PC with Internet Explorer set as their default browser would be shown a ‘ballot screen’ from which they could, if they wished, easily install competing browsers from the Web. If this proposal is ultimately accepted, Microsoft will ship Windows in Europe with the full functionality available in the rest of the world. As requested by the Commission, we will be publishing our proposal in full here on our website as soon as possible”.
If this passes then I suspect that in-place upgrades from Vista to Windows 7 should be possible for consumers in the EU. It would be the perfect solution and should make everyone happy, no matter what their browser preference is.
By the way, if this happens and you do happen to get a “Windows 7 E” box, keep it in very good condition. It could be a collectors item and be worth some money in 20 or so years.