A Stand-alone Internet Explorer?

Should Mozilla Firefox be concerned? I don't think so.

From Infoconomy: Gates announces stand-alone Internet Explorer release.

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates told delegates at the RSA Security conference in San Francisco that it would make trial version of its Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) available this summer.

The move highlights the growing concern within Microsoft over the number of users that have ditched its browser in favour of others regarded as more secure and with better features. Microsoft has seen its market share eroded over the last 12 months, dropping to below 90%.

It seems to me that when Microsoft went through all of the antitrust trials, a main argument was that IE was intgral to the Windows operating system and could not be broken out as a stand-alone. Hmmm, this is curious. Perhaps the "instant" popularity of Firefox has gotton the attention of developers at Microsoft and will cause development of a better browser. Let's just hope the consumer doesn't get caught up in the wars.

Signing Off. Until next time, I'll see ya on the Blog! drh.