No Standalone Updates on IE Roadmap

According to the current Internet Explorer (IE) roadmap, customers will have to install Windows XP Service Pack (SP) 2-after upgrading to Windows XP, if necessary-to get the most secure Internet browsing experience available from Microsoft. There are currently no plans to deliver an IE service pack or IE version upgrade to provide older OSs with Windows XP SP2’s complete complement of security enhancements. Customers using previous Windows versions will have to rely on hotfixes and patches to protect against vulnerabilities-some of which are serious enough that security experts have suggested considering non-Microsoft browsers.

In addition, Microsoft has no plans to release a new version of IE until the next version of Windows (code-named Longhorn), expected in 2006. This means that other commonly cited problems with the browser, such as incomplete standards support and feature stagnation, will not be addressed in the near future.

Problems with IE

Although IE development has slowed dramatically in recent years, many customers and commentators have suggested that the browser still has room for improvement. Outstanding issues with IE include security holes, lack of support for standards, and feature stagnation.