Limits of next Internet Explorer reveals new browser opportunities

Some of the companies that have standardized on Internet Explorer as their Web browser may find themselves in a dilemma when Microsoft releases Version 7.0, which is due later this year.

IE7 will be available only for the new Windows Vista operating system, also scheduled for release this year, and for Windows XP systems that have Microsoft’s Service Pack 2 update installed on them.

That could make Firefox appealing to Windows 2000 users who want the features of a modern browser, said Mike Shaver, a technology strategist at Mozilla Corp., the development and distribution arm of the Mozilla Foundation. “Every time someone decides what kind of software they want to run, we have an opportunity,” he said.

Mike Askew, senior vice-president of the Fidelity Center for Applied Technology at Fidelity Investments , said the release of IE7 may also present a prime opportunity for companies to reassess their browser environment. For example, he noted that Fidelity will have to do some tweaking and tuning of internal applications to work with the new version of IE. “If there’s anything that we can do at the same time to be a little bit more browser-independent, that’s a good thing,” he said.

Gary Schare, director of IE product management at Microsoft, said Firefox “got a lot of people focused on the browser after a period of time where nobody really thought much interesting was happening” with the technology. But Microsoft isn’t worried that users will view the launch of IE7 as a good excuse to consider defecting to Firefox, Schare said.

“We can ask why do they need an alternative?” he said. “What is their real reason for going to the new browser? And the answer is, I don’t think a corporation can sit down with me and come up with a single reason why they would need to go to Firefox instead of using IE.”

QuickLink 066638

Would you recommend this article?

Share

Thanks for taking the time to let us know what you think of this article!
We'd love to hear your opinion about this or any other story you read in our publication.


Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

Featured Download

Featured Articles

Cybersecurity in 2024: Priorities and challenges for Canadian organizations 

By Derek Manky As predictions for 2024 point to the continued expansion...

Survey shows generative AI is a top priority for Canadian corporate leaders.

Leaders are devoting significant budget to generative AI for 2024 Canadian corporate...

Related Tech News

Tech Jobs

Our experienced team of journalists and bloggers bring you engaging in-depth interviews, videos and content targeted to IT professionals and line-of-business executives.

Tech Companies Hiring Right Now