Unfortunately by the time we can count on this being available on a majority of client computers, the web will have moved on to newer and better things.
As long as Microsoft insists on allowing users to use anything but the latest version, we will have to play to the slowest mover - which will make everybody suffer.
Hm, is that actually true? Internet Explorer 7 seems to be fading fast. Internet Explorer 6 is in my eyes the only really big problem and there is not much Microsoft can do about it. (They should bring IE9 to XP but I don’t think that’s going to help all that much.)
Transitions seem to be fast now, Microsoft can push out updates relatively quickly.
Yeah this is good, but the thing to keep in mind is that an OS release always drives these numbers way up. IE8 comes with Windows 7. Vista didn't do so well so the IE7 numbers reflect that.
IE9 Won't benefit from being part of an OS release (unfortunately).
Windows XP Pro price raised (on average) to around $150. Windows 7 Pro is (on average) $85. I know large corporations get killer deals, but over time the cost will outweigh the benefits. I think the phase out will be less than 5 years for most businesses.
As long as Microsoft insists on allowing users to use anything but the latest version, we will have to play to the slowest mover - which will make everybody suffer.