Part II: IE7 Leaving W2K Users Out in the Cold?
Microsoft isn't standing still in light of Firefox's momentum, of course.
BillG's recent announcement that IE 7 will only ship on Windows XP SP2 and Longhorn is a direct reaction to Firefox's success.
Craig Roth, an analyst at Meta Group Inc., said Microsoft wants to show that it's "not standing still" as the open-source Firefox browser continues to gain users. According to ComputerWorld, the new IE7 plan "has a bit of a freezing effect on companies that might have been thinking about changing browsers."
Roger Wilding, a senior technical engineer at a global shipping and supply chain services company, said Microsoft is up to "its old tricks" with IE7. "They weren't going to do a new IE until Longhorn came out," he said. "Now there is a threat out there, Firefox, so they are reacting -- but only a little bit."
But IT managers don't like the No Win2K announcement very much.
Case in point: "Windows 2000 was built for the Internet and bought with good-faith expectations on security," said Charlie Ward, manager of IT architecture at Duke Power Co. in Charlotte, N.C. "If IE7 works only on Windows XP SP2 and above, Microsoft is forcing customers with no other compelling reason to upgrade to spend additional money to protect themselves from flaws in Microsoft's products."
Firefox, of course, claims that it will continue to ship on Win 2K, Win XP, the Mac, Wine, and whatever else they want to support. As usual, MS is declining any further comment about IE7.
BillG's recent announcement that IE 7 will only ship on Windows XP SP2 and Longhorn is a direct reaction to Firefox's success.
Craig Roth, an analyst at Meta Group Inc., said Microsoft wants to show that it's "not standing still" as the open-source Firefox browser continues to gain users. According to ComputerWorld, the new IE7 plan "has a bit of a freezing effect on companies that might have been thinking about changing browsers."
Roger Wilding, a senior technical engineer at a global shipping and supply chain services company, said Microsoft is up to "its old tricks" with IE7. "They weren't going to do a new IE until Longhorn came out," he said. "Now there is a threat out there, Firefox, so they are reacting -- but only a little bit."
But IT managers don't like the No Win2K announcement very much.
Case in point: "Windows 2000 was built for the Internet and bought with good-faith expectations on security," said Charlie Ward, manager of IT architecture at Duke Power Co. in Charlotte, N.C. "If IE7 works only on Windows XP SP2 and above, Microsoft is forcing customers with no other compelling reason to upgrade to spend additional money to protect themselves from flaws in Microsoft's products."
Firefox, of course, claims that it will continue to ship on Win 2K, Win XP, the Mac, Wine, and whatever else they want to support. As usual, MS is declining any further comment about IE7.
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