Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Backs Down On Making IE8 Default At Upgrade
Barence writes "Internet Explorer 8 will no longer replace the default browser when a user selects the 'Use express settings' option during installation. Back in May, Mozilla and Opera accused Microsoft of force-feeding users Internet Explorer 8 through the Automatic Updates process. The object of their ire was the 'Use express settings' option which automatically sets Internet Explorer 8 as the default browser. The option was already ticked when Automatic Updates offered users the choice to upgrade their browser. 'We heard a lot of feedback from a lot of different people and groups and decided to make the user choice of the default browser even more explicit,' notes Microsoft in a blog post."
All my machines went to IE8, even though I use Firefox as my browser of choice. Three reasons:
1: Security. You always want stuff that handles protentially hostile code as updated as possible. IE6 was made for the security threats of 2001. IE8 is made for far more current threats. Nothing is perfect, but IE has gotten a lot better as times have gone on. It has decent clickjacking protection, and seems to have had done a good job in standing up to NSS Labs's security tests.
2: Features. Auto-zapping all history and cache, and InPrivate browsing make it decently usable for those sites which require IE, or don't work well with Firefox.
3: Compatibility mode. There are some sites which still assume that everyone is going to be using IE6 for the forseeable future.
However, since MS pushed IE8 as a critical update through their automatic update service the user doesn't really have much choice
It's slightly more subtle than that. A forced upgrade from IE7 to IE8 doesn't seem much of an issue to me. It defaulting to changing itself to being the default browser doesn't rattle me too much either (though it does annoy me). What really gets to me is the fact that such a huge change in user preferences is "hidden" behind a "use express settings" tick box.
I chose to update to Firefox 3.5, but I still wanted my IE8 as my default browser, but FF3.5 decided to take over the role. I wasn't asked, it just assumed. I don't see how this is any different. People you have to just stop bashing EVERYTHING Microsoft does. They do enough that is cause for alarm, but this just isn't one of them.
My addiction: Arguing with idiots. AKA Slashdot!
Since the "whoosh" meme is a bit played out, I'll try a different one: ::Toooooooooooooot::
Hear that? That's the sound of you missing the boat.
Are you retarded, or a troll?
IE8 is included in Windows 7.