Downloader: New Windows browser ballot screen finally ditches IE6, but it remains alive

When the new Windows "Select Your Web Browser" window -- commonly known as the ballot screen -- rolls out to European users at the beginning of March, they'll be able to choose from five modern browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, IE 8, and Opera. Nobody's surprised that any of those made the list, and nobody is surprised (as Lee pointed out last week) that the screen comes with an IE-like appearance (is that a hint, Microsoft?). What's more interesting is what's missing: IE 6.

I hadn't really thought about it when I first saw the ballot screen, but when I read Scott Fulton's astute observation at Betanews that IE6 was left out, I practically jumped for joy. Did Microsoft finally drop a giant house on the Wicked Browser of the West? Can web designers and users alike now celebrate its demise?

Meh, not quite. IE6 is still alive in corporate IT departments, where compatibility issues with old software are holding back the rollout of IE7, not to mention IE8. There's even an IE8 Blocker Toolkit, from Microsoft itself, that corporations can deploy to stop unauthorized installations of IE8 on their networks. I am aghast.

You can be aghast, too, if you go read some of the horror stories in Fulton's post, and in an excellent article by IT Expert Voice's Esther Schindler (also linked by Betanews). Schindler explains exactly why even corporations who want to ditch IE6 sometimes can't.

Post your own tales of IE6-related frustration in the comments. And bring me a bucket of water, because this wicked browser needs melting once and for all!