blufive: (Default)
blufive ([personal profile] blufive) wrote2003-06-14 10:08 am

IE Toast?

Many probably noticed the hoo-ha a couple of weeks back over Microsoft's comments regarding IE/Windows' future. (Summary: no significant upgrades to IE/Windows unless you upgrade your Operating System)

Well, now they're halting development of IE/Mac. So, having stomped everyone else on windows, they're ducking out of the fight and abandoning the Mac to Apple's Safari.

I can't help thinking that this is a stupendously dumb move on MS's part - the competition in the browser market1 is just starting to get going again, and MS are taking their ball and going home...

[later edit:
Zeldman has more, including confirmation from one of the team, and a good summary:
after spending billions of dollars to defeat all competitors and to absolutely, positively own the desktop browsing space, Microsoft as a corporation is no longer interested in web browsers
There's more, read it all.]

[even later edit:
Eric Meyer also has a good post up, including a list of reasons we should be grateful that IE/Mac existed.]

1Next time you're reading a weblog that has some form of stats tracking on it2, go have a look at the stats. I'm seeing quite a few blogs with 10%, 15%, 20% or even 25% mozilla-based browsers. I stand by my assertion that the early adopters are moving.

2For instance, instapundit has sitemeter and extreme tracker counters down at the bottom.

[Link: MozillaZine]

[identity profile] sbisson.livejournal.com 2003-06-14 02:21 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah. My default browsers are now Safari on Mac, and Firebird on PC...

[identity profile] peteyoung.livejournal.com 2003-06-14 02:51 am (UTC)(link)
I use Safari as default on the G4 Powerbook...loading my LJ Friends page it is on average about two seconds faster than IE when not using broadband.