Microsoft: Killing IE6 'not an option'

Microsoft yesterday responded to critics who have called for the death of Internet Explorer 6 (IE6), saying "dropping support is not an option" for the eight-year-old browser.

While acknowledging that Microsoft is eager for users to upgrade to a new version of IE, Dean Hachamovitch, general manager of the browser group, said the decision is out of its hands. "The choice to upgrade software on a PC belongs to the person responsible for the PC," said Hachamovitch.

And Microsoft has no intention of putting IE6 to sleep before its already-scheduled 2014 termination. "Dropping support for IE6 is not an option because we committed to supporting the IE included with Windows for the lifespan of the product," Hachamovitch said, referring to Windows XP, the operating system that included IE6 when the former shipped in October 2001.

Microsoft has set the kill date for IE6 as April 8, 2014, when it wraps up all support for Windows XP.

:story: Full story: Computerworld