Microsoft Internet Explorer ActiveX Update May Break Internet Applications - Page 2

External script technique does not work when the "Disable Script Debugging (Internet Explorer)" check box is cleared

All is not lost — yet. Microsoft will be simultaneously releasing a Compatibility Update that will reset the ActiveX handling changes to their original mode for another two months.

Although most Internet sites have already prepared for the changes in the way that Internet Explorer handles some ActiveX controls, some enterprise customers have given feedback that more time is needed to ensure that corporate line-of-business applications are compatible with this change to Internet Explorer.

To help enterprise customers who need more time to prepare for the update, Microsoft will be releasing a Compatibility Patch. This Compatibility Patch will be available the same day as the next Internet Explorer Security Update. As soon as it is deployed, the Compatibility Patch will temporarily return Internet Explorer to the previous functionality for handling ActiveX controls. This Compatibility Patch will function until an Internet Explorer update is released as part of the June update cycle, at which time the changes to the way Internet Explorer handles ActiveX controls will be permanent.

The real solution, and perhaps a long overdue one, is to make Flash, QuickTime, ActiveX, and embedded object handling as integral functions of the browser, thereby negating the need to embed objects and avoiding the patent, but that plays into concerns over bundling, compatibility and complexity. At this point, this will be nothing less than a retrograde step for the Internet. Poorly handled, it could be a mini-Y2K.

Article Author: Aaman Lamba

Aaman Lamba is a Blogcritics editor, as well as the Publisher of Desicritics.org, a Blogcritics network site covering media, politics, culture, sports and more with a global South Asian focus

Visit Aaman Lamba's author page — Aaman Lamba's Blog