Microsoft have, once again, neglected the browser market. They soundly beat Nutscrape after a long battle, then stagnated.
Of course, Nutscrape was reinvented as the open source Mozilla. And some Norwegian fools came out with a decent product too. So, while the masses were busy working on the crippled IE 6, there was a bleeding edge introduced to such wonders as tabbed browsing, with built in popup killers, and some greater security. And, for a time, it was good.
Then Mozilla did something a bit silly. They went and released a much more accessable browser, which is friendlier than IE, has all the benefits of Mozilla, and is faster than Moz. And, for a time, it was good.
However, I think that the bear is awakening. Microsoft say they will release IE7 in beta form within a couple of months. Apparently, it’s because it offers much greater security than IE*, but I’d put a small- to middling-amount of money on it being related to the threat of FireFox.
Browser Wars: The Return?
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* – of course, the general perception is that the goatse guy is more secure than IE, so it’s not really saying much.
I seem to remember Microsoft saying they weren’t updating IE anymore once they had thrashed the shite out of Netscape. Hmmm. Feeling threatened are they?
Still wont make me use it.
Unfortunately, I am forced to use it at work. Which is a pain in the arse.
I installed Firefox at work. I feel empowered.
Whereas our PCs are locked down tighter than a duck’s arse, so there can be no installing of non-standard software. Boo.
Oh, and we also use ActiveX applications quite heavily. Remote Desktop, etc. Which only IE can do.