IE 7: So Much for Molly Wood.
IE 7: so much for FirefoxBy Molly Wood, senior editor, CNET.com
I just read through this, and I think it's honestly a troll article (designed simply to elicit angry comments, which it has in spades). Come on Molly, you can do better as Senior Editor at CNET.
The big reasons IE7 will not "win" completely as Molly Claims it will:
- Only for Windows XP SP2 - what about all the other legitimate windows 2000 and even 95 98 and ME customers?
- What about everyone with a pirate version of XP who can't get SP2 (a bigger group than you'd think)
- What about the Mac users
- What about the Linux users (This group is growing fast, a year from now when IE7 is out of beta, it may be truly bigger than Mac users)
Finally, the big hurdle for M$ is trying to make IE secure - but they won't give up activex controls in IE because it would break a lot of their own sites (like windows update), which are part of what make it so easy to exploit.
They'll also have a default install base of really computer-illiterate users, users who don't know yet not to click on the "Your time is wrong, click here to install TimeKeeper" popups and ads. Add all that to being the biggest target simply because it has around 90% of the market, and they're still going to be fighting the same old problems.
Yes, it means Firefox may not be as clear a choice for users of XP SP2, but SP2's IE updates (popup blocking and security enhancements) already did that. What will keep users on Firefox is the familiarity. Once you can use tabs on your computer at home, to go to work and have to "open new window" for every link you want to click on when you don't want to lose your starting page is torture. Firefox has the distinct advantage of being available and secure for every computer you own.
