IE-Free World Could Free Developers

Without the Internet Explorer browser, Microsoft would be free from having to continually patch it, and web developers could build applications without having to worry about satisfying IE's finicky behavior. Picture a world where CSS standards mean more to web developers than weird CSS offsets caused by Microsoft's browser. Imagine a place where people use web browsers that don't flunk the Acid2 Test in a splash of red across the browser window. Now that you've returned from words of columnist John Dvorak, who refers to Internet Explorer as 'The Great Microsoft Blunder': I think it can now be safely said, in hindsight, that Microsoft's entry into the browser business and its subsequent linking of the browser into the Windows operating system looks to be the worst decision-and perhaps the biggest, most costly gaffe-the company ever made. Dvorak references the recent Eolas v Microsoft patent infringement case. That cost Gates and company some $521 million in loose change. There's no way to know just how much time Microsoft has spent over the years developing and fixing IE (unless Del.icio.us") | Yahoo! My Web | PreFound.com Bookmark Murdok - David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.