After looking over the PC Magazine PC World websites today, I realized that I read almost the same article on both - a tome about the increased security of the next iteration of Microsoft’s internet browser.  The stories tell how Microsoft is going to great lengths to make the browser secure, and while a certain amount of security is desirable, the point of people’s movement to alternative methods to search the internet  is more than one of simple security.

Think about why you use the browser you use. Is it the security aspect that comes to mind first? For most who have been doing browsing for some time, the answer is no. People use what feels good and works. So while no one can fault the Microsoft effort for its basic quality of working, much can be said about how little it allows people to interact and change the look and feel of the piece of software that so many find themselves using for so many hours each week.

This is what led to the development of all the browser alternatives in use today, with the king, Firefox, being the most customizable of all. For all persons I’ve spoken to, that is the largest reason for their usage of it. As Firefox has gotten more popular, exceeding 50% usage in some parts of Europe, it has begun to be targeted by the malcontents who design malware. Does this change the habits of the majority? No, as the majority like the way that customization has changed their interaction with the computer, so they will not change. As I use Opera, I know that I was concerned with problems in early versions of Firefox that, for the most part, have been repaired. My move to Opera, rather than Maxthon, or k-Meleon, or any other browser, was that I saw a decent ability to customize, yet the browser was solid, and secure.

This is what Microsoft still does not get - people are different, they want their browsers to be able to reflect the different ways that they use them, and the Internet Explorer mold is too tight for much change in look and feel.

The Microsoft market share will continue to erode, both as other browsers become more well known, and as more people who are new users become more sophisticated, and therefore less afraid, of problems that can befall those who browse the internet. If Microsoft wants to be able to compete evenly, they should re-introduce  a modification of the kits that allowed individual ISPs to change the look of IE back in the old days. An expanded version that would allow the user to achieve some personal changes would bring some users back into the Microsoft fold - but the days of Microsoft having a 90+ percent market share in browsers is gone. That ship sailed when Sheriff Mozilla came to town.

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Tags: internet explorer 8, microsoft, firefox, opera, k-meleon, maxthon, internet browser, mosaic, netscape