Re: IE Thread

Jerry Mead wrote:

>Support for Netscape-compatible plug-ins has already been removed from 
the
>latest builds of IE. Deprecating support for the <object> tag is a 
further
>possibility, but all that would mean is that the corporates who depend on
>it wouldn't update to the neutered builds ... and it's possible that not
>even Microsoft would be prepared to risk the row that would ensue over
>thousands of broken corporate applications were that 'fix' to be
>incorporated and pushed out alongside some new critical MSHTML security
>patch.

Of course, we do not yet know what remedy Microsoft is making, but if they 
were to remove support for some features to avoid paying future royalties 
(presumably the current ruling encompasses past royalties), and patent 
compliance was their sole motive, then surely, if they had a mechanism to 
fix existing browsers (i.e. a patch,) they would have to use it? Or is 
that the point? That Microsoft see that by fixing all future copies of IE, 
they have done their part, and are free to move on to "bigger" and 
"better" things? (They have already said that MSIE is now a legacy 
component. What do they care if people are running the next to last 
version of a legacy component, or the last version?)

Too many questions,

Archer

End.

Received on Tuesday, 2 September 2003 00:42:31 UTC