IE Reaches 100 Million Installations

Like a plague invading the cyber world, Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7 has officially reached the 100 millionth installation marker, "proving" that it is the second most used browser in the US. Second - Microsoft officials say, only to version 6. Not sure exactly what that "proves" as most people who own PC's have Internet Explorer pre-installed on their units from the factory. Also, not sure exactly what everyone's experiences may have been with the IE7 update, but from my own experiences - and that of many colleagues that discussed this with me as well - it was anything but a voluntary experience."Rape" is the word sometimes used by PC users when referring to the strong-armed manner in which Microsoft's browser forced its installation on some units. One person I spoke with stated that the pop-up window announcing the availability of the update popped so frequently that it made conducting business via his PC nearly impossible. My own personal experience was that IE6 began having so many weird, off-the-wall errors and after contacting support I was told that the only way to fix them would be to install the new version. Once installed a whole new ball of wax opened. As a web developer there are certain tools that most of us need to have in order to function properly. Toolbars - many of which have been reported to not install properly for some IE7 users - custom menu items - again, many have reported that they are unable to install them - and of course the quirky viewing changes that typically come with a new browser version - all can hinder a web developer's daily work. So why do we keep IE7? Well, simply from a developer's viewpoint - we keep it because we "need it" to ensure that our web sites and projects will be viewable on this browser. Internet Explorer is well-known to have certain quirks when it comes to W3C standards compliance, and while many of those issues have been fixed in the new version, it still means that developers need to re-check all of their old sites and see what has been changed - and what hasn't.And here's the rub - because of this browser being pre-installed on most computers straight from the factory, companies that measure Internet usage like Web Side Story, for example, are reporting that over 25% of all users in the U.S. are now using the new IE7. This is where they are getting their facts. From the people - many of which are not aware of alternative options such as Firefox, the most popular alt. browser, Opera or any number of other free-for-use options.Until new awareness about non-Microsoft products permeates the general public, web developers will have to continue to download and use IE7 - whether they like it or not.

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