“Purveyors and consumers of Web content and software, already unsettled by the peace pact between former arch rivals Microsoft and AOL Time Warner, may be in store for an even more radical upset with Microsoft’s stated plans to eliminate standalone versions of its Internet Explorer browser, reports Paul Festa, Staff Writer, CNET News.com.
Festa continues, “The apparent move to discontinue standalone IE also makes Microsoft competitors Apple Computer and AOL appear prescient in their recent maneuvers to secure long-term access to browser technology. Apple in January launched its own browser, based on the open-source KHTML development project, and analysts at the time attributed the move to Apple’s desire to maximize its independence from Microsoft and IE. The timing may have been just right, if the elimination of a standalone IE leads to the discontinuation of a version of the browser for the Macintosh OS.”
“Microsoft declined to answer most specific questions on this story, but the company representative said Microsoft would ‘ensure that all current IE users will have access to updates in the future.’ Microsoft would not clarify whether that meant there would be continued updates to IE for Windows on a standalone basis, or for the Mac, and if so, what it meant when it promised to end production of standalone IE,” writes Festa.
“Microsoft did seem to suggest that however it plans to take care of existing users of standalone IE, their options were even less certain once the company’s next version of Windows comes out. ‘If you’re using IE now, for Mac or Windows, you will have access to any appropriate updates,’ said the Microsoft representative. ‘There will be continued innovation and improvement. For the near and immediate future, customers will have access to IE. It’s not going anywhere as a product. What happens in the Longhorn timeframe–it’s too early to discuss,'” reports Festa.
Full article here.
Who cares if MS does discontinue it – they haven’t updated that piece of crap in how long?
Who care about IE? There’s a lot of programs who run better than the MS one. There is Netscape, Safari, Camino.
its ok because IE was a piece of crap anyway
Hooray!I.E sucked to begin with beside we the Mac user got Safari….and other 3rd party browser!
see ya
I always trash the IE binary with every OSX install I go through anyway. I replace it with mozilla, camino, safari and/or phoenix, depending on the box’s specs and purpose. So, as far as I’m concerned, IE for OSX is a non-existent product anyhow! ;o)
Good riddance!
man,IE rocks…got it on my pc.
never had any trouble…
don’t get it! its a great browser!
You will not see me shedding tears! There are many, much better alternatives!
I hope that this hurts Micro$oft. It seems to be yet another arrogant move. We do not need M$ software on a Mac anyway. I’m glad apple finally released Safari. Now they need to build a much better email client. M$ has the best email program for OSX now (Entourage).
Directions for new Mac owners, after having pulled Mac out of box and setting it up in your work space and turning on Mac:
Step One: Start IE, go get Safari, et al., quit IE.
Step Two: Throw away IE, In OSX and OS9. Throw away ALL M$ software, knowing that you are now NOT contributing to supporting a twice convicted illegal monopoly by using even their ‘free’ software.
Step Three: There is no step three
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hmm…yet another reason not to own a mac
Wasn’t ‘tight’ integration of IE with Windoze the reason for this monopoly trial? Maybe it is time for another round, this time breaking up the monster really well. And sending this Bill guy to St. Helen, or some other remote prison island (remember Napoleon?), so he finally stops implementing his megalomaniac ideas. write to your congress(wo)man.
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i’m glad. i always disliked IE. i’ll use mozilla or safari over it anyday.
People who use PC’s and post here don’t have a clue. They use IE on the PC and think its the same. WRONG. IE is bearable and slow on X. Nothing to do with apple, just lax m$ programming.
Safari and Camino are much better alternatives and have far more innovative and useful features than stale old IE. Its great to see other companies innovating unlike microsoft who feel they don’t need to innovate because they own such a huge market share.
Good ridence to IE, Have not used it much since safari came out.
PC 100% Linux user who has both eyes on a new ibook, and have adapted fine. Mozilla’s a great browser, as is Safari from what I’ve seen of it. What will be the kicker is plugin support. Office is covered, with even a little wigglin’ room, so now M$ wants revenue doing that which it has recently been ‘slapped’ for already, and appears geared to complete the job with something so integrated within the OS that browsers become ‘useless’. Plugins (I call them this because that is what they’re evolving from, no new insight here really, I admit) of one form or another together with ‘the core’ become the ‘center’ of the Net for M$ users, as with all users. When that happens, Communities are going to become important for us all (“We make “x86″ software so you don’t have to” [to get at em’]… _Not_ that I’d mind AT ALL running a full OS X install on my legacy systems…
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According to VersionTracker, IE for Mac was last updated 09/25/2002. And that was just a security bug fix. Three more months and we’ll be a year since IE was last updated.
Good riddins IE.
MICROSOFT WANTS IT ALL (Part x in a continuing series…)
In a post on another subject in the recent past, I detailed how M$ is continuing to use proprietary codecs, etc with it’s marketing power to force ALL competitors into never, never land. This is but the latest example, however, this time Windoze users will be included.
Many Wintel PC users have NOT upgraded to XP for a variety of reasons, and M$ is going to force them onto XP then Longhorn, by a variety of means. One of these will be the unavailability of M$ support for older versions of Windows, the newest being the dropping of IE development for these older platforms.
Many of us using the Safari Beta have seen web sites blocked or improperly rendered, because they are optimized for IE, and this will now happen to legacy Wintel boxes running older or third party browsers. I guaruntee you that newer M$ web tools will incorporate protocols and codecs that will not work properly without the “New” M$ OS with it’s integrated browser.
What about the Mac? My bet is that down the road a bit, IE for Mac OS will be integrated into and only available with MSN for Mac OS software. Are you starting to see the picture? With it’s payoff to AOL/Time Warner, Netscape-Mozilla is going to be cut loose in the not too distant future. Add to that the ending of IE support for Win 95/98/Me/2000 and you can see how easily they will be able to have de facto control of how most content is created on the web. They control the dominant browser, OS, and with AOL and MSN using M$ internet technologies a HUGE chunk of the surfing public.
If Apple is smart, they will develop a version of Safari for Windows and distibute it for FREE as an alternative to IE. If they do not do this, the web experience on Mac/LINUX/UNIX will be that of a second-class citizen.