MatthewHSE - 8:24 pm on Mar 6, 2009 (gmt 0)

Stupid Mac-user's question to Windows folks: If you use FF, what role does IE play in your online life? Sorry to be thick here.

As best as I understand it, the mere presence of IE on a computer is a security risk because it can be exploited via hacks of other applications that are not necessarily compromised themselves. The fact that it will be "optional" indicates that it is not tied into the very fiber of the OS anymore, which can only be a good thing.

(Although one wonders what will happen to load times and RAM usage, as IE is essentially loaded into RAM at system startup as things currently stand.)