Microsoft is trying to figure out a way to stop losing money on Internet
Explorer, so now they want to be paid. Windows users are in the same boat
but they haven't figure this out yet. They, too, have to pay for an MSN
subscription to get the newest browser. I'm sure that when this finally
dawns on someone who uses windows there will be a ruckus. Right now windows
users are too busy fixing problems with problems due to exploited flaws in
their OS to notice this major change in licensing.
That's probably a little extreme, Jim, or maybe it's coming through a little
differently than you meant. IE on Windows will continue to be part of the
Windows OS, just not available separately. (This also helps to bolster MS's
recent courtroom contention that a browser is part of an operating system -
which it needn't be, of course - as does their approval of Safari and
dropping of further development of IE Mac.)
On Windows, users will continue to get minor IE and OE updates as part of
their Windows Updates (like our "Software Update" on the Mac). And they will
get major upgrades to IE in their OS upgrades - so when Longhorn (the next
Windows OS upgrade) is released I'm sure they can expect an IE 7 and OE 7
with big changes. Of course, they will have to pay for that OS, so you're
perfectly right in that regard. But people may have taken you to mean that
they would have to get (pay for) MSN to see browser upgrades and that's not
so. It's even possible that MS might include a significant update to IE/OE
Windows in a Service Release or Service Pack for the current Windows XP OS.
And certainly in paid OS upgrades.
In the meantime, we will be getting lots of significant improvements in
Apple's Safari, long before Windows get improvements in their IE. Mostly
these will be paid too - since they will usually come in new paid OS
upgrades such as Panther from now on, with bug fix updates between times. It
does look like OS X is getting a lot more frequent significant upgrades than
Windows - where Longhorn isn't expected until 2005-6. By then we'll be up to
OS 10.5 or 10.6 (or 11?), with Safari advancing apace.
--
Paul Berkowitz
MVP Entourage
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