Microsoft backs IE6 until 2014
Microsoft has underlined support for its Internet Explorer 6 web browser, despite acknowledging its flaws. The software giant said it would support IE6 until 2014 – fours years beyond the original deadline.
Critics – some of which have started an online campaign – want the eight-year-old browser mothballed because they claim it slows the online experience.
Web monitoring firms estimate that 15-20% of people still use IE6 to browse the web. The most immediate threat to Microsoft’s 68% market share comes in the shape of Mozilla’s Firefox – used by 22% of browsers.
Ronald Gruia, a principal analyst with Gartner:
“The competition Microsoft has to worry about right now is Firefox. Not just from a market share perspective but from an innovation perspective because their plug-ins work really well. In the future they have to look out for Google with its Chrome browser. The main concern there for Microsoft is the rise in cloud computing and software as a service. Google is becoming very effective at delivering applications in the cloud and therefore poses a huge threat to Microsoft.”
On April 14, 2009, Microsoft retired Mainstream Support for Windows XP, and thus for Internet Explorer 6. That said, Microsoft is not planning to retire Extended Support for the operating system until April 8, 2014. If Redmond ends up releasing a fourth service pack for XP, it will retire support for SP3 (released in April 2008) two years after SP4 is released, or in April 2014, whichever comes first. In short, IE6 will continue to be supported by Microsoft for at least four more years.
Tags: Internet Explorer, microsoft
