Microsoft announced yesterday that the company has reached an agreement with the European Commission regarding the name of a Windows XP version without Windows Media Player (WMP). XP versions sold in Europe will be called Windows XP Home Edition N and Windows XP Professional Edition N. Microsoft had offered a list of nine possible names, including one with the suffix Reduced Media Edition, but the Commission didn't find any of the names suitable and instead suggested the name that Microsoft eventually accepted. The company reportedly also agreed to remove statements from the product that warned that some applications don't work with the new XP edition.
"While we are disappointed with that determination and have some misgivings that the Commission's designated name may cause confusion for consumers, we will adopt the Commission's name in order to promptly move forward and accelerate the pace of the implementation process," the company stated in a press release issued yesterday. Microsoft is still working to address another Commission requirement that the company provide open access to its server protocols.