Monday Miscellany
End of the road for IE? C|net has a story here that says Microsoft's Internet Explorer 6, SP1, is the last in the line of stand alone browsers from MS. The article quotes MS IE Program Manager Brain Countryman as saying:
As part of the OS (operating system), IE will continue to evolve, but there will be no future stand alone installations. IE6 SP1 is the final stand alone installation,"
I don't know if IE will continue as a stand alone application but if it doesn't, one has to wonder what that means as far as updates. That is, will you have to wait for the next version of Windows to get a browser with significant changes?
Further, with the browser integrated within the OS, what affect does that have on security? IE has not been the most secure browser so it may be reason for alarm to give it hooks directly into the OS.
Obviously, all of this is speculation but one wonders why the change?
Salam Pax Outed? The UK Guardian has an article here that says they have tracked down the "Baghdad Blogger" known as Salam Pax who blogged under the "Where is Raed" banner.
The Soldier is the Network This link here shows what the well dressed soldier of the future could be wearing. The uniform, called the scorpion ensemble, would make the soldier part of the network of battlefield data sources. Part of a collective, ummm, hive, if you will, where everyone is interconnected. No word yet if Microsoft will get involved or if Bill Gates himself will head the effort.
Aloha!