It"s been nearly two years since Microsoft released a significant update to the world"s most popular web browser, but how long will IE users continue to wait? The latest update comes via Windows XP SP2 which improves the security of IE by adding new features, and a pop-up blocking feature.
How much longer do IE faithful"s have to wait in order to get a new browser (full version)? Microsoft isn"t officially setting any date yet. This is pretty obvious according to a recent Microsoft statement "At this time, there are no plans to release a new stand-alone version of IE". Right now there are two rumors going around. The first one is that Microsoft might release a new version of IE before Longhorn is shipped. The other unconfirmed rumor is that Microsoft will offer a new version of IE with Longhorn. Problem is Microsoft"s next generation OS isn"t expected to surface for another 2-3 years. Is it fair to have users wait 5-6 years for an update?
It would be nice to see Microsoft come out with a new version of IE before Longhorn, but right now it"s a very hard call to make. Microsoft spokesmen have argued that there isn"t time to release a separate version of IE from Longhorn. Adding that it would only slow the development of Longhorn. It"s pretty unfair that Microsoft would have its customers wait such a long time for a well needed update.