Microsoft Keeps Beating a Dead Browser

Night Hawk · 08 Jul 2009

I think the main point of this thread was about IE and will it continue on. This isn't about browser wars or "conspiracy theories". Those are subjects for other threads in the chillout room.

abuttino · 08 Jul 2009

It's not a theory.

Night Hawk · 08 Jul 2009

Ripley's Believe it or not it's still off the topic entirely! We're discussing the future if any(most certainly) for Internet Explorer here with respect for the OP.

Muad Dib · 08 Jul 2009

Muad Dib said:

IE is not dead. IE will never die. MS will continue to provide a web browser with Windows as long as they can because it is an integral part of a turnkey desktop computer.

The average consumer wants to open the box that has their new computer, follow the foldout quick start guide and be surfing in less than an hour. They do not want to have to select from a choice of browsers, download it and install it. Hell, most of them don't even run Windows update.

MS marketing and the hardware vendors (Dell. HP, etc) know this. Furthermore, none of them want to have to support 4-6 flavors of browsers with a 1-4 year warranty support contract.

Even if MS decides to retire the current IEx technology and either build from scratch or ..... buy some other browser and adapt/adopt it to the Windows OS..... it will be called Internet Explorer. IE has name recognition and MS does not want to piss off their 66% market share. They may do something cute by calling it IE Revolution or IE Galaxy but that would be it.

A browser is a fundamental component of a consumer desktop and nobody is going to buy a new car without wheels and tires. MS knows this. The manufacturers know this. Any thinking person knows this.

So you see Internet Explorer will never die, it will always exist. It may be reincarnated or reborn but it will always BE.

And just to stir the pot. MS could buy FF rights under contract, modify it to their specifications, copyright their design changes, re-brand it Internet Explorer and distribute it with every copy of Windows. And you know what...

There would still be a segment of users that would hate it because it is MS's Internet Explorer!

There, that is my muckraking for the day.

Sleep well all! Hope you had a good holiday!

Let me repeat my post on the subject to provide focus....

Night Hawk · 08 Jul 2009

Muad Dib said:

Let me repeat my post on the subject to provide focus....

Just a little focus???

pestbest · 09 Jul 2009

True. The people who talk bad about IE probably never tried using it. They are probably just Anti Microsoft and anything related to it is not what they like.

manosdoc · 09 Jul 2009

IE 8 x64 in my machine is obviously faster than last shipping Version of Google Chrome, lagging a tad in heavy Javascript sites, but taking back at HTML code.

Also, WDDM 1.1 use in fonts is something Chrome is not even close to.
The nearly 100+ Policy Options and Generally Preferences is way better than Choosing my staring page @ Chrome or even where my Downloads go. Drop Down Address Button is a huge backstep yet.
Ability to Switch Between Different Search Engines instantly is also something I miss much.
Not to mention that Chrome does not have Adblocking Mechanism. Even Adblock plus is lot slower than IE8 Inprivate filtering cause it works in the level of HTTP requests resulting in lower Network Bandwidth, where FF's ABP extention uses Javascript to block content, adding both CPU/Network Load.

How IE8 is a dead browser when Chrome does not have basic stuff ?

Lordbob75 · 09 Jul 2009

pestbest said:

True. The people who talk bad about IE probably never tried using it. They are probably just Anti Microsoft and anything related to it is not what they like.

I have used it. I have just never liked it. Too clunky looking. That and no tabs (back on 6 when I stopped using it).

~Lordbob

petrossa · 09 Jul 2009

Same here. IE6 was a clonker.

Switched to Opera which was then the first well tabbed browser. Stuck with it because it just works, can't be bothered really to change to another.

Tried IE8 however just to see how the 'standard' setting worked. Didn't impress me enough to change because it's just to, what's word, to unimpressive.

Night Hawk · 09 Jul 2009

Lordbob75 said:

I have used it. I have just never liked it. Too clunky looking. That and no tabs (back on 6 when I stopped using it).

~Lordbob

IE 7 was where the tabbed browsing element was first seen along with the long awaited improvements overall for security. With Vista's original delays there was no newer version of IE from 6.0 allowing all forms of hacking and trojans to slip past the few updates provided. IE 7 however had to address the vulnerabilities.

Here I never preferred but excepted tabs on FF and Opera as part of those browsers when trying them out and first was a little disappointed with the beta release of both IE 7 and IE 8 especially with the new layout seen for that. Both betas resulted in crashes when first used on XP.

IE 8 is one I would advise for novice users due to the iimproved filters and overall safer browsing as MS has built up quite a data base on malignant sites which you are now steered away from with the filters as well as the suggested sites option.

Some time last while someone was still running IE 6 I had to go in on the XP machine there since the owner neglected to watch out for various things(porn ads, malwares) and clean up a real mess!

The link for one site was still found in the browsing history! The owner had actually allowed an 8yr. old to play the Windows games and that's who also found the link! I was fuming and tore through all the offline content!

along with upgrading to IE 7 at the time.

The only problem seen at some times of day or night with IE is when having multiple windows open and needing one more where you can't even reach the home page usually when the traffic is the heaviest. That's when another browser like Opera comes in handy.