As a proponent of open source programming, I recommend that users install the Firefox browser as the first step in the migration to software choice and freedom.  Besides the obvious reasons of speed and compatiblity with current web standards, I also promote Firefox because of the following reasons:

• Extensions, extensions, extensions. Do I need to say more? With over 5000 add-ons available to extend functionality and fully customize your browser, why stay locked into a barebones experience.  My recently installed add-ons were gTranslate & WiredMarker
• Mozilla's outstanding web developer features and support for CSS and Dom to help build even more beautiful and responsive pages.

I was brainstorming with a collegue about possible blog topics and he mentioned Microsoft's announcement to provide support for IE6 for the lifespan of XP.  My first reaction was that perhaps the newer versions were still buggy and had security issues and this was the reason behind the decision. But I am sure there must have been a collective moan from the web development community as CSS support is problematic and proprietary JavaScript makes IE6 a struggle to work with.  A Twitter search shows how painful this browser is for designers and how they feel about the continued use/support  bit.ly/1an3UC

While mainstream support for XP and IE6 ended on April 14th, 2009,  the announcement was made that Microsoft is not planning to retire Extended Support for the operating system/browser until April 8, 2014.

Fortunately, sites such as YouTube, Digg and Facebook are pushing IE6 users to switch to a 'modern' browser, by adding notifications and limiting access to some features. This is a real opportunity for Mozilla to increase its market share as people are exposed to options listed on these sites. In the meantime, Microsoft is making its own moves to make sure users have to upgrade as Office Web Applications (browser versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote) will support Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 8, Firefox 3.5 on Windows, Mac, and Linux, as well as Safari 4 on Mac. Note IE6 is not on the list.

Microsoft will not force an upgrade, they feel it is up to users to make the final decision to upgrade or abandon IE6.

We want people to upgrade to the latest version. We make it as easy as possible for them to upgrade. Ultimately, the choice to upgrade belongs to the person responsible for the PC

On a final note, my original thought that perhaps the newer versions of the IE browser was buggy might have some merit since Microsoft is trying to market IE8 as a superior browser to its predecessors and to the competition. In June 2008, the company launched a "Windows Internet Explorer 8: Get the facts" website that received much criticism because it was obviously biased. In March 2009  the company released its own tests that showed IE8 loading many websites faster than two open source browsers, Firefox and Chrome. With these NSS Labs reports, the company is trying to show that third-parties also find IE8 to be a solid competitor, but the fact that the software giant sponsored the reports blunts their impact (the way that one designs the test has a huge impact on the results). see the test results here... http://bit.ly/1i0RP9

So as i do my small part to take back the web and install Firefox on yet another computer, I feel that I am providing the user with an opportunity to make an informed decision regarding their choice of browser and increased functionality.