The browser world is reeling
from news
that Microsoft will stop distributing the standalone version of
Internet Explorer. An
IE program manager stated that IE6SP1 is the final standalone
installable IE. Since it was invented about ten years ago,
browsers have always been distributed as installable applications.
What does this mean? Well it looks like the death of Internet
Explorer for Mac. It also would seem like you will never be able
to install Explorer 7 on Windows 3.1, NT, 98, Me, or 2000. Possibly
even Xp. And Explorer for
UNIX is already extinct. Zeldman raises the prospect that many
people (AOL users to start with) may be stuck with IE6
until 2010. Imagine all those popup ad windows that millions of
people would still be manually clicking on to get rid of in 2010!
Then there is the news about AOL's settlement with MS. Which makes it
look likely
that Mozilla is dead. One can only hope that Opera and such
interesting Mozilla byproducts as Firebird and Phoenix continue to be
developed, as they
offer new browser features not seen in Explorer, as well as
improved security and speed.
What does it matter to the VR world? Well most VRs end up being
presented inside browser windows. If browser development stays
moribund, it affects us all.
6:30:09 AM 
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