by Derek—2004.06.29 @ 1218
Microsoft's Internet Explorer is struggling to keep itself trustworty. An old security flaw has been exploited in Internet Explorer and I hope in many ways it will entice more people to make the switch to another browser.
A major lesson to be learned: honesty is the best policy.
While Microsoft continues to support and sponsor its own campaign to halt open-source projects, the fact remains that being "open" is often the best policy; especially when security is at stake. Open-source projects are growing in popularity and some have taken the market by storm. For example, the Apache project took over the web server market and now commands more than 60% of the market.
Open-source projects differ from traditional "mainstream" commercial ventures in that (typically) the entire project (e.g., computer program) is controlled, maintained, developed, and inspected by an enormous team of computer programmers around the world. The benefit? More eyes on the same bit of code and less "holes." Additionally, open-source projects traditionally have a very active support team. Bugs and security holes, when found, are quickly patched and sent back to the community. There is a viable teamwork spirit that keeps open source projects on the top.
In the browser world, Microsoft was able to crush Netscape with their superior market power. Microsoft was able to give away IE which led to Netscape closing its doors. Luckily, Netscape's fall did not mean the end to alternative browsers. The Mozilla project picked up on the Netscape code and has released several alternative browsers. What is great about alternative browsers is their response to customer demands (in addition to rapid security fixes). Key features such as tabbed browsing, pop-up blocking, and adherance to W3C standards are now staples in modern browsers -- except Internet Explorer.
Unless Microsoft can rapidly deploy better versions of Internet Explorer, I think (read: hope) more users will make the switch.