There is a war that is about to start, but who will win this epic battle? Once Internet Explorer 7 finally gets out of development, there is no doubt that it will be a threat to Firefox usage. To give Internet Explorer 7 some credit, they are doing a lot of good things. Things that should have been done many years ago. So, will Internet Explorer 7 kill Firefox?
In my own opinion, Internet Explorer 7 isn’t giving me anything yet that I really want. Right now they are playing a game of catch up with the other browsers in the market today. I see nothing in Internet Explorer 7 that I can’t do already in Firefox.
Now sure, Microsoft might get a few people to switch back. They are the 500 pound gorilla out there in the browsing market today. If the launch of Internet Explorer 7 goes off perfectly, and there are no problems at all, then a lot of people might switch. That is a worst case scenario though. If that is the case, then I will soon be watching for pigs with wings coming from my rectum.
Traveling back to the world of reality, I think no matter what Firefox will always have an audience. They have worked hard to build a loyal following, and I don’t see it dying out too soon. Some people will always fear Microsoft, so Firefox is an obvious choice for them. The other Firefox users are folks who like to have a little more control with features. Extensions play a large roll in Firefox’s success and I just can’t see Microsoft being as open with things as Firefox has been in that department.
So we go back to the first question, will Internet Explorer 7 kill Firefox? Unless the folks at Mozilla do something really stupid, I don’t think Firefox will be going away anytime soon.
