There was a backstory. Janet Reno's DoJ forced Microsoft to sign a consent decree that forbade them from tieing products to Windows but allowed them to add func

There was a backstory. Janet Reno's DoJ forced Microsoft to sign a consent decree that forbade them from tieing products to Windows but allowed them to add functionality to Windows. Therefore, IE had to be a feature of Windows not a separate bundled product. Otherwise, in the eventual anti-trust trial, Microsoft won the browser case 2-1 on appeal.