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Microsoft enlists WSUS, ex-Superman, and puke in IE8 push

Take it or leave it

Microsoft will start injecting Internet Explorer 8 into large organizations through its Windows Server Update Services beginning at the end of August.

The latest edition of Microsoft's browser will be available for download through WSUS as part of an update roll-out from August 25, Microsoft has said. WSUS lets system administrators manage the distribution of updates for Windows-based systems released through Microsoft Update.

But you still won't be forced into swallowing IE 8. The company said you'll be able to configure your WSUS server to block delivery of the browser.

That's consistent with steps taken by Microsoft earlier this year when it released a Blocker Toolkit to prevent download and installation of IE 8 on desktops.

Blocker Toolkits have been released for past versions of IE and are designed for organizations that have yet to test or migrate their existing applications to Microsoft's latest browser.

IE 8 is also available - and can be declined - via Microsoft's Windows Update service.

The news came as browser rival Mozilla released its latest edition of Firefox, which has slowly been taking market share from IE. Firefox 3.5 closes the gap on IE 8 with features such as private viewing and the ability to spin up extra tabs without straining memory.

Corporates are getting the IE 8 downloads as Microsoft has cooked up a batch of TV-style commercial web ads featuring former Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman TV star Dean Cain pimping IE 8's features for consumer end users. In a series of ham 1950's-style public service announcements, Microsoft has bolted together a set of deliberately cumbersome acronyms and pitches around lolcats, porn, and puking to promote features such as web slices and private browsing.

You can view the web-only ads, here. ®

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