Microsoft to Update IE Before Longhorn? Maybe So

[mazzy]

Microsoft is investigating whether it can use the same IE add-on mechanism that third-party developers are deploying, so as to issue out-of-band browser updates.

When asked whether Microsoft will release an updated version of its Internet Explorer (IE) browser before Longhorn ships in 2006, Microsoft's pat answer is that it has no current plans to do so. IE is part of Windows, and that's that, according to the Microsoft party line.

But if you ask a slightly different question — whether Microsoft intends to add new features and functionality to IE without releasing a whole new standalone version — you'll get a different answer.

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The last standalone release of Internet Explorer issued by Microsoft was Internet Explorer 6.0 Service Pack 1, which the company shipped in the fall of 2002. Microsoft released IE 6.0 SP2 as an integrated part of Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), which began shipping in August 2004..

With IE, Microsoft has cornered an estimated 93 percent of the browser market. Microsoft's share has declined slightly in recent months, primarily as the result of gains by Mozilla's Firefox.

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http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,...,1722443,00.asp