eweek: IE "may adopt plugin feature"

aidan_walsh

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I know the title of the article is different but I think the more important point in the article is not the fact that MS may U-turn their position on updating IE before the release of Longhorn, but rather something a little deeper inside...

So it seems they've been looking at how popular Firefox is, and decided that the best way to take their users back is to rollout a new architecture in IE; one that allows them to make creating Chrome style plugins.

When asked whether Microsoft will release an updated version of its IE (Internet Explorer) browser before Longhorn ships in 2006, Microsoft's pat answer is that it has no current plans to do so. IE is part of Windows, and that's that, according to the Microsoft party line.

But if you ask a slightly different question–whether Microsoft intends to add new features and functionality to IE without releasing a whole new standalone version–you'll get a different answer.

"We are looking at whether we can use the add-on mechanism [used by third-party software developers] to roll out new IE features" before Longhorn, said Gary Schare, director of product management with Microsoft's Windows client unit.

Schare did not volunteer any information on what kinds of enhancements or add-ons Microsoft might be considering. But IE users have been vocal in their demands for features such as tabbed browsing, built-in RSS (Really Simple Syndication) reading capabilities and support for the most recent cascading style sheet standards.

Microsoft has published a number of IE-related APIs (application programming interfaces) to its Microsoft Developer Network site, to which it is encouraging third-party developers to write. The IE programming model includes support for XML and enhanced dynamic HTML, company officials said.

A number of third-party ISVs are developing to this platform and are distributing all kinds of IE add-ons, ranging from blogging tools to search tools to RSS aggregators.

Microsoft recently aggregated this growing pool of IE add-ons and showcased it on its Windows Marketplace Web site. Windows Marketplace is Microsoft's one-stop online shop for Windows hardware, software and services from Microsoft and other vendors.

There are nine third-party browsers listed on Windows Marketplace that use the rendering engine underneath, as does America Online Inc. with the current release of its AOL browser. Among them are Maxthon from the MyIE2 team; Net M@nager from Virtual Innovations; InnerX from InnerX; IESnap from Tonec; and the Avant browser from Anderson Che.

Microsoft's strategy for competing with these and non-IE browsers, such as Mozilla's newly minted Firefox 1.0, is a three-pronged one, Schare said.

Fenster

Well I still won't switch back if they remain to use he same core for IE.