[SledgeHammer]

An article at CNET today is predicting the death of Firefox, or at least the end of its "rebellion," with the release of Internet Explorer 7. A related article says that a beta of IE7 will be released this summer, with the final version releasing "ahead of Longhorn."

I don't know if Firefox is as doomed as this writer seems to think it is. I for one do not see myself recanting my position on IE, that is, "don't use it." As a Mac user, I have no personal concerns regarding IE's security issues. For me, it's all about the lack of standards compliance. Comments like the following (from the first article) really get to me:

Firefox is great, I use it. But it's a chore sometimes, what with most sites using that pesky nonstandard IE code. Not everything renders properly, and some sites just plain don't work--I have to load up IE to use them.

Succumbing to the use of "nonstandard code" and just using IE will not fix the problem (shitty webdesign). Avoiding IE and using browsers with real standards compliance, and forcing people to see that coding for IE is not the answer will fix the problem (at least we hope it will).
M$ isn't saying anything about whether or not they'll be updating more than just security issues. From the second article:

"Any released information stating your commitment to modern coding practices--meaning XHTML, CSS, XML, not to mention full PNG support?" asked Web designer Brady Frey...Microsoft's Nash declined to shed any light on the question of features in the IE update, restricting his comments to planned security enhancements such as better defenses against phishing scams and improved spyware protection.

If M$ releases a browser that plays as well with W3C standards as Safari, Opera, and the Mozilla family, I will be ecstatic. Sure, it will just help to further cement Microsoft's dominance (if that's even possible at this point), but it may be the best thing to happen to web design in a long time. I have a sneaking suspicion, however, that the newest Internet Explorer will continue to flout standards as it always has. And it won't surprise me at all if, two months after its release, someone finds a big-ass hole in it.

In closing...why does Microsoft continue to dominate countless markets despite often inferior products? Stupid people (or maybe just lazy people), that's why:

I don't want to learn something completely new. IE, on the other hand, is like the sweeping tide--it's just easier not to fight it.

[autodata]

Originally Posted by SledgeHammer M$ isn't saying anything about whether or not they'll be updating more than just security issues. From the second article:

a little more to the point:

"Right now, the focus is security," Nash said. "There may be other things that are in there, but the goal is on security."

[torifile]

MS isn't as dominant as they would like you to believe. Last month, IE had less than 2/3 of the browser market. That's a majority but it's not as overwhelming as you'd think from ignorant webmonkeys. MS has a serious image problem. Even if they had a superior product, they'd be suffering from problems. It's only a matter of time before critical mass makes them rethink things.

[Luca]

I don't think IE7 will change much. People who are already using Firefox will continue to do so, because they know that IE will always be sucktacular. And people who already use IE will continue to do so, because the 'tards don't know any better. I'm amazed that so many people have moved to Firefox.

I mean come on! Do you really think anyone with the foresight to install Firefox is going to trust IE again? I might install it and kick it around a bit to see what it's like, but IE will always be my "backup browser" that I only access through the "IE View" extension in Firefox.

[Koodari]

Frankly, the CNet woman is either an idiot or too lazy to be a reporter. After install, there isn't much difference at all between using IE and Firefox. There isn't much difference if you go to Opera, either. The better browsers have more features available if you seek them, but how is the actual browsing different? Did she look at the menus, say "these are not the same than in IE letter for letter" and decide it's too difficult? Ugh...

I haven't even browsed to a site that demands IE for a year or so.

The only good point she made is that internal update checking in Firefox would be welcome. Not that Firefox needs updates frequently like IE, though. I remember only one security hole that for which I felt it was in order to get an update fast. And FF has yet to have a single upgrade over 1.0, another minor point to consider.

[NeverFade]

is FF better than Safari for Mac?

Never even bothered withy it....

[SledgeHammer]

I prefer Safari, use it as my main browser. I have no real beef with Firefox for Mac, but some people here do. I rarely use it, so that may be why. Camino is my secondary browser, the rest I keep around mostly for web page testing. On Windows, Firefox is definitely your best option.

[Barto]

It's not like Microsoft was building a bad browser by choice - turning IE into a decent application will take more than BillG snapping his fingers.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by NeverFade is FF better than Safari for Mac?

That depends on how you look at it. If you compare on terms on raw features, FF probably beats Safari hands-down. If you compare on terms of usability and subjective feel, FF more likely steps behind Safari.

I recently outlined a few of my problems with Firefox here: Firefox for Mac: User Interface Grievances. That's all about the Mac version, though.

On Windows, however, many of those UI problems either don't exist or aren't nearly as relevant since Mac users are generally much more accustomed to having applications that fit in with and behave properly like everything else on the system (ie. more consistency).

Do I think IE7 will kill Firefox? Certainly not. It wil probably slow the growth of new FF users a great deal if it actually brings significant security improvements, but I doubt it'll do much about converting a lot of people who have already switched to Firefox. People that switched to Firefox are often those who were frustrated with IE's problems and would be wary to try switching back. Plus, many of these Firefox users have started using extensions and themes that will only be available in Firefox.

I don't like the idea of Microsoft introducing IE7 without fixing any of the outstanding rendering problems. Oh course, this would make the perfect move politically.

If IE7 is generally better up to par with Gecko or KHTML or Opera, though, I'd welcome it with open arms and get every PC user I know to download it.

[Moogs]

The writer must be another Winlot tool. "Oh, MS is making a new browser. By definition then, it's going to crush everything we've used to date... because uh... um, it's like, Microsoft and stuff."

Either it's going to do a better job of standards implementation than Firefox / Mozilla, or people won't switch. Anyone who is using Firefox on Windows to begin with is someone who cares about their browsing experience, standards support, frequent updates, etc. They're not going to switch just because it's MS.

[dfiler]

It's improtant to note that MS worked hard on IE until it was on par with the competition. Version 4 was the first version I prefered over navigator.

However, once they killed the competition, improvements pretty much ground to a hault. It appears that they're feeling the heat again now. They'll likely exert enough effort to be considered equal to other browsers. Then they'll stop and rely on their defacto IE-markup standard in order to maintain dominance.

History is likely to repeat itself unless some other factor comes into play.

[Barto]

I respectfully disagree. Microsoft cannot improve IE simply by setting the "quality" dial to the desired position. They need better software development than they currently have... in all areas. Engineering, management, quality assurance and user interface design and testing. I'm not saying Microsoft can't do it but it will take a genuine, sustained effort inside Microsoft to improve Internet Explorer.