Posted on 02/16/2005 10:38:24 AM PST by decimon
The party's over.
In the past year, the little browser that could, Firefox, became the people's hero, an underdog warrior that took a huge swipe at its enemy, Internet Explorer. IE dipped below 90 percent market share for the first time in years, while Firefox lured users like the Pied Piper, blowing past its own fundraising goals and reigniting the browser wars.
Meanwhile, the bad news continued to mount for Microsoft. An IE exploit put even Windows XP SP2 users at risk from phishing schemes, even as Microsoft touted SP2 as the most secure version of Windows yet. Worse, major security companies and the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team began to recommend that computer users dump IE for something more secure (read: Firefox).
By early this year, Netscape was emboldened to reenter the fray, announcing in January that it would release a new version of the Netscape browser, designed specifically to resist phishing schemes--something even Firefox lacks. Then, Opera said it would offer free licenses to universities, in order to make sure it would still be relevant in the new world browser order. And through it all, what was the response from Microsoft? Silence.
TalkBack Are you afraid of a standalone Internet Explorer, or will you keep betting on the Firefox pony?
For a moment there, it looked like the tyrant IE could actually be overthrown. Those were heady days, weren't they? Well, they're over now. Papa Bill just dropped the hammer. Bill Gates announced this week, at the RSA Security Conference in San Francisco (of all places), that Microsoft will ship Internet Explorer 7, without waiting for the next version of Windows. Gates says the standalone browser is designed to address the perception that IE itself is a massive security risk. What he didn't say, but you know he was thinking it, is that IE 7 will easily put a stop to this upstart browser rebellion.
Don't believe me? You should. Firefox is great, I use it. But it's a chore sometimes, what with most sites using that pesky nonstandard IE code. Not everything renders properly, and some sites just plain don't work--I have to load up IE to use them. Plus, let's be honest--Firefox has its flaws. Why is there no way to check for updates from within the browser, for one thing? Why does it take so doggone long to launch? Why, why must it crash every single time I open a PDF? I mean, every single time. Opera, fine, whatever, I'm not paying for a browser, and for some reason, although I've tried it several times, it's just never captured me. It's too clunky, and I was raised on IE. I don't want to learn something completely new. IE, on the other hand, is like the sweeping tide--it's just easier not to fight it.
If a standalone IE 7 is even 50 percent more secure than current versions, the Firefox rebellion is finished. If IE 7 has tabs, Firefox will be destroyed as surely as the Hungarian uprising of 1956 was crushed by Russia. I use the analogy deliberately, too--no one expected Microsoft to issue a standalone version of IE, but those months of silence (and, no doubt, frantic development) look awfully ominous now. This is a company that's absorbed Justice Department lawsuits, threats of daily fines from the European Union, and lawsuits from nearly every state in the union, and that has steadfastly refused to break up its republic of Windows-IE-Windows Media. But this Firefox thing must have it fearing the domino effect, big time.
It was bad when Microsoft seemed to ignore Firefox, treating it like a harmless upstart not worthy of comment or attack. But now that the sleeping giant has awakened, I think the buzzing gnat of the browser wars is about to be squashed flat. What do you think?
You are incorrect. Go to "My Computer" and type in a www address. You will connect. The file manager uses IE code. That means that IE is embedded.
This is the best feature.
I'm a tab junkie and I hate MS's approach to email. Mozilla just does it for me.
Thanks. Informative.
A decade ago there was no Internet.
Now everybody is on it, and 10% of them are on it on their cell phones.
The times they are a-changing. Bill is a good adopter of other people's technology and dictator, but he never was an innovator.
> Man alive, she's sure not a company shill. No way. Really.
And such a good writer, too :-)
--Bill, happy Firefox user
Double dittos.
I said last fall I wouldn't fix anyone's PC for free anymore unless they use Firefox. They all started using it, and I haven't had to help them at all!
It's so simple, my mother installed and customized it just the way she likes it on her own. That was 6 months ago. Not a single instance of the usual spyware since.
FireFox Rocks. : )
Well you can thank those of us who did switch to Firefox and lit a fire under Bill Gates' lazy ass. Otherwise IE 7 would still be on the drawing board and we'd all be dealing with those stupid pop-ups and viruses for years to come.
I'll gladly switch back to IE if IE 7 is as good as this article states. Firefox is superior to IE 6 but it's far from perfect.
all RIGHT! Seventh time's the charm! High fives!
I had this problem until I got rid of Acrobat Reader 6.X and reinstalled Version 5.0. Acrobat 6.X is a real POS.
Meaning she's been using computers for -- what? 15, 20 minutes?
WHA?!
Honey, buy yourself a real computer or upgrade your RAM.
So, if anyone out there is tired of the problems that occur with IE6, don't change your browser. Don't change to Firefox, because the vaporware ...er ... new Explorer will be out any moment, and MS is gonna fix all that. Any minute now. Really soon. Really.
I mean it.
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