Whither IE?

Microsoft's termination of Internet Explorer (IE) as a standalone application hasabsolutely no effect on cross-platform developers or Web standards.Cross-platform developers (are there even any out there any more?) shouldwrite to current Web standards as detailed by the W3C, not to Microsoft'stools or documentation, as both are likely to be just on the edge ofcompliance with the specifications and definitely not cross-platform.

IE is built on components shared throughout the Windows OS. The preview panein Outlook is itself an HTML viewer component; the help system is an HTML viewercomponent; etc. This decision is nothing more than an affirmation byMicrosoft that it has completely tied IE to the OS as well as proof positivethat the ruling and subsequent demands by the Department of Justice have noteeth if you have the money to line the pockets of lobbyists and SIGs.

Will the decision affect Windows users who desire to run some other browser?It depends on whether Microsoft removes a user's ability to designate otherapplications as file handlers for mime-types typically handled by IE. In myopinion, this is just another check mark on my "reasons I don't runMicrosoft software" list.

-- Lori MacVittie