I'll admit, I typically jump the gun on matters
such as this, and I tend to have an attitude about
it as well, because I work in the
computer/Internet industry.

However, I just wanted to add a few other points
to my above message:

1. Microsoft has released updates to IE in the
last year, and despite MS's best efforts, there
are still several major unpatched vulnerabilities
in IE as of now.

2. Firefox, up until last week was a BETA program.
In other words, there were updates and patches
nearly every night for those who wanted to really
participate in the beta testing -- and generally,
more patches = better software in the end. Just
because MS hasn't released updates for IE doesn't
mean IE is safer -- in fact, I believe it makes it
weaker.

3. I believe that a little competition for
Microsoft may in fact encourage them to fix the
problems with their browser and introduce new and
better features (not that I'll personally use IE
for anything other than Windows Updates).

4. Lastly, if you're running Windows XP, IE is
fully integrated into your operating system -
which generally spells major trouble if something
happens to IE. If you're using some other version
of Windows, you may not see the problems
associated with IE in WinXP because a lot of
viruses are specifically designed for XP and IE is
not integrated fully into all versions of Windows. 

Now, I've spoken my peace... I will leave this go
& return to my own little world. 

--zerospace