You may have seen this if you have logged in to MSDN in recent months. Now all of us know that Internet Explorer components are used in the system all over the place and they are an integral part of the Operating System package. But listing them under Operating Systems in MSDN downloads is rather perplexing given all the legal trouble1 MS have faced around Internet Explorer.
The first time I saw this I thought yeah they are at it again, changing where what is in MSDN. But since this has been this way for at least a month, I get the feeling this is the way it is going to be ?!
Note that Windows NT and Windows 2000 versions are missing – yet Windows 3.11 (16 Bit) and Windows 3.2 (16 Bit)2 and MSDOS 6.0 and 6.22 are available for download. Note also that there are other entries in there that clearly are not Operating Systems.
I am hearing that many of MSDN subscribers welcome (and even have suggested) another reorganization of MSDN site and the menu system for better access to downloads and other benefits. Is that true ?
1 US DOJ vs Microsoft (1998-2002)
2I never knew that there was a Windows 3.2. Turns out that it was a Chinese version of 16-bit Windows that had updates for handling the complex Simplified Chinese script.
