Internet Explorer For Mac

Internet Explorer for the Mac will no longer be supported by Microsoft as of December 31,2005, the company recently announced on its Mactopia Web site. Reflecting a change in its marketing policy, Microsoft will no longer provide downloads from Mactopia of Internet Explorer for the Mac starting January 31, 2006.

Can You Say: “Mozilla Firefox?”

Microsoft also recommended that Mac users switch from Internet Explorer for the Mac to other web browsing technologies such as Apple's Safari, ignoring rival Mozilla Firefox or Opera browser technologies. Losing Internet Explorer may not be a big problem, since Microsoft announced nearly two-and-a-half years ago that it had planned to eliminate support for the browser, saying then that Apple’s Safari browser was too competitive, better served the Mac community, and that no better product will be produced since Microsoft didn’t have access to the Macintosh operating system that it needed to compete.

Support Cut Can Create Problems

One problem this cut-off of support may create is with several Web sites that currently work only with Internet Explorer, What may happen now is a developer scramble to create interfaces that will work with alternative browsers like Mozilla Firefox. While Firefox currently commands about a 10% market share, you can expect this to increase because of its Mac-friendly approach.

While Microsoft reversed its decision to Windows 2000: MS Ends Support, it’s doubtful that it will do the same for Internet Explorer, since the business market share remains small.

Users say “Good riddance!” to Internet Explorer for the Mac

Mac loyalists on the blogs aren't mourning Microsoft Explorer support loss as significant, the consensus being that Microsoft‘s Internet Explorer's lack of standards conformity always made development and support difficult for all Apple-related products.

Users Perceive Microsoft Anti-Macintosh Bias

The Mac user community have never really been thrilled with what they perceive as Microsoft’s anti-Mac bias, citing a lack of business and other software applications designed to work only with Microsoft operating systems and not with Apple Macintosh’s OS X. The Mac community believes that Microsoft pressured software developers not to invest time and effort producing software products for the Mac.

Considering that Microsoft has always perceived Macintosh as a weak competitor more education-oriented and lacking a business orientation, this bias isn’t a mystery from a business point of view. While Macintosh users are enthusiastic, Rush Limbaugh being among them, business owners have always complained about a lack of business-oriented products or Web sites geared to Apple web-based programs. Market analysts agree that this bias forced Apple to concentrate product development utilizing graphics design, photo and image manipulating and music software that only a limited portion of the business market could use. Apple has made significant gains in market share, due to sales of its popular iPod products, while sales of Mac computers seem to be taking a back seat in its marketing plan. But the upcoming 2006 change to Intel chips in Macintosh operating systems may open up the Mac line to developers to again create business products. Perhaps Macintosh can give Microsoft a run for the money.

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