TOPIC: Popular Open-source Web Browser Firefox Gets Update
Mercury News / Associated Press
The Mozilla Foundation released on Tuesday an updated version of its popular, free Web browser, Firefox, which features improved search functions and more protection against spyware. Firefox is the product of hundreds of volunteer software developers around the world, who collaborate to design new features and fix bugs - unlike proprietary browsers such as Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer, whose source code is kept secret.
Mountain View-based Mozilla Foundation bills itself as a nonprofit "dedicated to improving the Internet experience for people everywhere." Firefox 1.0 was released officially in November 2004, and it quickly became one of the most downloaded open-source programs in the world. It's particularly popular among home PC users and college students. Within 99 days of its release, the program was downloaded more than 25 million times. By August, it had been downloaded 200 million times.
Mozilla officials estimate that more than 70 million individuals are using Firefox, which has been translated into 35 languages and is available for Windows, Mac or Linux operating systems. Improvements to Firefox 2.0 make it tougher for spammers and other advertisers to put "spyware" and other invasive programs on users' computers. Some changes, such as an integrated spell check, are meant to help Internet users who post text on blogs, community sites such as MySpace.com or YouTube, or on collaborative Web sites known as "wikis."

TOPIC: Internet Explorer 7 Released!
Why it happened during the evening is anyone's guess. BUT, BusinessWeek filed a report at 8:00pm last night -- stating that IE7 is live.

OCT. 18 8:01 P.M. ET - Microsoft Corp. is giving its Web browser software its first major upgrade in years, amid signs that Internet Explorer's market share is eroding. The release late Wednesday brings Microsoft's browser more in line with competing products such as Opera Software ASA's Opera and Mozilla Corp.'s Firefox. Internet Explorer 7, or IE7, adds features such as tabbed browsing, which lets people open several Web pages without cluttering their desktop with multiple open browser windows. Microsoft has been heavily testing the new browser, releasing five beta versions over 14 months, and has periodically offered security updates for IE6, first released in 2001.
Still, a lag of more than five years between official releases has cost the company. Web analysis company WebSideStory estimates that Internet Explorer's U.S. market share is about 86 percent, while Firefox commands about 11 percent of the market and smaller offerings account for the rest. Two years ago, IE had about a 93 percent share. Dean Hachamovitch, Microsoft's general manager for Internet Explorer, acknowledged the company could have done more sooner, but he said the new version should address users' concerns. "We did have active development," he said. "The question is whether it was enough."
Matt Rosoff, analyst with independent researchers Directions on Microsoft, said Internet Explorer is important to Microsoft's business because most people believe an operating system should include a way to immediately access the Web. Still, he said, Microsoft may not have seen much reason to spend a lot of money upgrading sooner since most people continued to use the older version. Rosoff said the new product includes enough improvements to lure back some users. But Colin Teubner, an analyst with Forrester Research, said people already using Firefox and rival products might not immediately come back. That's partly because those users have soured on Microsoft, he said, and partly because IE7 doesn't break much new ground. "A year ago Firefox was head and shoulders above Microsoft's current offering, and I think even with IE7 it's mostly playing catch up," Teubner said. But he does recommend that IE6 users upgrade, and he believes Microsoft may surpass competitors with future improvements. Besides tabbed browsing, Microsoft has improved security to help keep users from falling victim to things like malicious software attacks and phishing scams. Microsoft products are a near-constant target of Internet attackers, and some people have recommended switching browsers because a less high-profile product might be more secure. The Redmond software maker also has added a box in the browser that lets people search the Internet without going to a separate Web page, much like competitors.
In a last-minute change, people who are upgrading from the previous version of the browser will now have a clearer way to choose whether they want to use Microsoft's search engine or a competing one from companies like Google Inc. or Yahoo Inc. The change announced Friday was one of several aimed at soothing antitrust worries in Europe, where Microsoft faces a longrunning regulatory battle. IE7 will be available as a free download beginning Wednesday evening. Next month, the company also will begin delivering it to Windows XP users who have signed up to automatically receive security fixes. Hachamovitch said that's because the product makes major security improvements. Such distribution also will provide a powerful tool in countering competition from rival browsers.
Security updates typically download with little or no user intervention, but with IE7 people will get an extra opportunity to elect not to upgrade. Also, even people using automatic updates will have to agree to let Microsoft check whether their copy of Windows is pirated before they can get IE7. Microsoft expects that it will take months to gradually release IE7 automatically. The browser also will be an integral part of Microsoft's new operating system, Windows Vista, due out for big businesses in November and for consumers in January.

I would suggest NOT switching back to Internet Explorer until it has proven itself not to be the security risk that was IE6. IE7 doesn't offer anything that Firefox hasn't had for months (or longer). Maybe I'm being cynical, but as an IT professional, I simply don't trust that Internet Explorer 7 will be as secure as advertised.