In an event which can only be described as a long time coming, increased exposure for Mozilla’s Firefox has finally driven it to exceed that of Internet Explorer 6, the decrepit hunk of code venerable old browser released all the way back in 2001.

While IE’s overall market share still hangs around 62%, the portion of that belonging to the reviled IE6 shrunk to (a still abhorrently high) 23.30%. Combining versions 2.0, 3.0, and 3.5 for Firefox yielded a total presence of 23.83%.

Frankly, we don’t care what you switch to–Firefox, IE8, Safari 4, even Opera–but for heaven’s sake, get off of IE6 already. We’re talking to you, too, IT bean counters!

Ed note: In before enterprise risk analysis and legacy code.

Computerworld is reporting that Microsoft has an unlikely ally in the form of Mozilla which yesterday blasted Google for releasing a plugin which replaces Internet Explorer’s renderer with that of Chrome’s.

The former CEO of Mozilla and current Mozilla Foundation chair Mitchell Baker expressed her disagreement in a personal blog update.

“The overall effects of Chrome Frame are undesirable,” she said. “I predict positive results will not be enduring and — and to the extent it is adopted — Chrome Frame will end in growing fragmentation and loss of control for most of us, including Web developers.”

Baker claims that slipping Chrome into Internet Explorer will confuse users by giving them conflicting destinations for browser control.

“Once your browser has fragmented into multiple rendering engines, it’s very hard to manage information across Web sites. Some information will be manageable from the browser you use and some information from Chrome Frame. This defeats one of the most important ways in which a browser can help people manage their [Web] experience.”

Microsoft, meanwhile, complained that adding Chrome to IE would pose an increased security risk. The Redmond firm said that users would now have to patch vulnerabilities for two browsers instead of one. Microsoft also pointed out that the plugin also disabled Internet Explorer features like the private browsing mode which blocks history and cookies from being recorded.

The Mozilla Foundation’s VP of Engineering Mike Shaver also echoed security concerns. “The user’s understanding of the Web’s security model and the behavior of their browser is seriously hindered by delegating the choice of software to the developers of individual sites they visit,” he said.

Google has not yet responded to Mozilla’s criticisms. Users interested in replacing the Internet Explorer rendering engine with the safer, faster, and newer Chrome engine can do so for free.

Google announced on Tuesday the beta release of a plugin which makes major changes to Microsoft’s competing Internet Explorer browser.

Titled Google Frame, it completely replaces IE’s web rendering engine with that of Chrome’s. The result is a faster, more standards-compliant experience even in the antique Internet Explorer 6.

Many web developers are loathe to require that users upgrade their browser (because most simply can’t), but Google theorizes that the low barrier to entry of a plugin might spur IT departments to adopt it as they have with Adobe’s Flash.

Meanwhile, MSNBC Editorial Concepts Producer Jim Ray has written a glowing review which documents the technical details of Google’s work:

The irony here, as I see it, is that an old, insecure feature Microsoft built to try to beat Netscape is now being used by Microsoft’s biggest current rival to patch IE. The upside for developers is that Microsoft is going to have a hard time killing Chrome Frame because it actually does the right thing — it’s not hacking IE via undocumented APIs or unscrupulous haxie-like code injection. They used Microsoft’s own well-documented and fully supported platform to do this. Bravo indeed, Google.

We can’t deny that this news fills us with a bit of smug satisfaction, but we question the utility of requiring all IE users (or merely IE6 users) to install a plugin before using your site. While Flash has made significant inroads in this area over the years, we wonder if there is enough incentive before larger websites pave the way.

Tabs, speed dial, faster browsing and a slick UI make Opera Mini 5 the best BlackBerry browser we have ever used. You have to try it.

Chrome 4 vs. Opera 10 vs. Firefox 3.5. FINISH HIM.

Google has created a bit of Javascript that enables SVG in IE. Hello cross-browser support!

Report IE6 offenders you know for a public shaming.

The Mozilla Foundation yesterday released its second security update to Firefox 3.5 which launched in June. Firefox 3.5.2 fixes five vulnerabilities — four critical and one moderate — related to flaws in SSL, Javascript and memory management.

Protect your Gibson; patch your browser.

In a rather unsurprising turn of events, CNN Money reports that Google CEO Eric Schmidt has resigned from Apple’s board of directors.

“Eric has been an excellent board member for Apple, investing his valuable time, talent, passion and wisdom to help make Apple successful,” said Apple CEO Steve Jobs in a statement. “Unfortunately, as Google enters more of Apple’s core businesses, with Android and now Chrome OS, Eric’s effectiveness as an Apple board member will be significantly diminished.”

As board members are expected to abstain from participating in business matters that would represent a conflict of interest, Google’s new interest in phones, operating systems and browsers puts Schmidt at odds with the majority of Apple’s core businesses.

In something of an eleventh hour decision, Microsoft has decided to restore Internet Explorer to European copies of Windows 7. The move will allow Microsoft to offer the same SKUs to both sides of the pond, including upgrade licenses, which had been postponed in the region until at least December 31.

Microsoft revealed late this evening that it does not intend to ship the browser-free Windows 7 E editions even though the EU has yet to approve its revised plan. The revised plan for Windows 7 in Europe calls for a “ballot screen” which gives users the option to select the browser of their choice.

“In the wake of last week’s developments, as well as continuing feedback on Windows 7 E that we have received from computer manufacturers and other business partners, I’m pleased to report that we will ship the same version of Windows 7 in Europe in October that we will ship in the rest of the world,” Deputy General Counsel David Heiner said in a prepared statement.

“One reason we decided not to ship Windows 7 ‘E’ is concerns raised by computer manufacturers and partners,” Heiner said. “Several worried about the complexity of changing the version of Windows that we ship in Europe if our ballot screen proposal is ultimately accepted by the Commission and we stop selling Windows 7 ‘E’. Computer manufacturers and our partners also warned that introducing Windows 7 ‘E’, only to later replace it with a version of Windows 7 that includes IE, could confuse consumers about what version of Windows to buy with their PCs.”

Meanwhile, the EU has not officially accepted Microsoft’s ballot screen proposal, but it was receptive to the idea in a statement released last Friday.

“Under the proposal, Windows 7 would include Internet Explorer, but the proposal recognises the principle that consumers should be given a free and effective choice of web browser, and sets out a means–the ballot screen–by which Microsoft believes that can be achieved,” the statement reads. “The Commission welcomes this proposal, and will now investigate its practical effectiveness in terms of ensuring genuine consumer choice.”

Analysts are confident that Microsoft’s decision to drop Windows 7 E signals a favorable outcome and an end to the Internet Explorer issue.

European Windows 7 users will be presented their choice of browser upon first logon.

Firefox 3.5 was only recently brought kicking and screaming into the world, but the Mozilla foundation is already on the move with mockups of the UI for version 4.0.

The author notes that the iteration with tabs above the address bar is contentious and has its own problems including a lack of user familiarity, longer mousing distances, an absent title bar and a break with consistency.

Assuming for a moment that these are final mockups (they’re not), which would you choose?

The Mozilla Foundation has closed a major security hole and improved launch times with yesterday’s release of Firefox version 3.5.1.

Though Firefox 3.5 is still hot from the oven, security researchers quickly uncovered a critical flaw in the browser’s JavaScript compiler that could be used to transparently execute malicious code on client PCs.

The Foundation also resolved an issue in the browser’s launch sequence that could make for significant delays. Bug hunters identified a flaw in a mechanism that creates security keys from the contents of the system’s temporary files. As Firefox 3.5 must complete a scan of these directories prior to application availability, a large temp file made for protracted launch times.

Users looking to avoid having their shit wrecked are advised to download the update from Mozilla or click check for updates in Firefox’s help menu.