Microsoft: No massive IE9 push until June

TNW Quick Hit:

The IE team seems to have finally made up its mind as to when the world should be force-fed Internet Explorer 9, Microsoft’s latest browser.

The date for the massive rollout of the new software to computers via Windows Update has been pushed back several months to late June. Originally, Microsoft promised to push out IE9 on the 21st of March, but that date slipped by with Microsoft only days later acknowledging that the given day was wrong.

ZDNet received a statement from Microsoft that: “[Microsoft] will have more to share on the delivery of IE9 via WU and WSUS (Windows Server Update Services) in the coming months.” Until that time we will likely not have information as to whether the update, when it is pushed, will be marked as something critical or merely suggested. As usual, there will be a tool that administrators can use to block the upgrade to IE9 if they deem it to be too forward for their operation. We can only wince as the poor souls still stuck on IE6.

Internet Explorer 9 has been performing strongly thus far, with Clicky Web Analytics tracking the browser as controlling over 1.3% of the global browser market. You can read our previous coverage of Internet Explorer 9 here.

Finally, according to Google, consumer interest in IE9 has surged. Will it last? Sound off in the comments if you think that IE9 is going to become as boring as IE8 in just a matter of days.

Update: Microsoft reached out to TNW saying that we are a bit confused. In their note, they said that “Windows Update for IE9 RTW [was turned on] on March 28,” something that is true. However, the company also said that it has “throttled,” their word, the “broad roll out” of the update. That is what we said: the date of the big push of IE9 via Windows Update has been pushed back. If we confused you into thinking something else, we apologize.