It is a sad and unfortunate reality that the de facto standard web browser for many users is Microsoft Internet Explorer, despite all reasonable evidence pointing to the fact it’s less of a web browser and more of a facilitator for spyware and adware, even if you know what you’re doing (don’t you just love how MS sneaks evil stuff like WGA and DRM onto your box without even informing you until after it’s done so?). Naturally, if you’ve gone the Linux route, you have little to fear from these forced “security updates,” and of course you have the likes of Firefox, Opera, and (if you’re of the KDE mindset) Konqueror to use as far less maddening browsers.

However, there are still many sites - useful and/or entertaining ones - that simply require IE, or the latest Flash player (a Linux version of which is in development, but a release is not imminent until sometime in ‘07) to be fully operational. And until now, jumping off the Windows merry-go-round and testing your mettle on the roller coaster that is Linux and Open Source meant that you were closing off access to those sites.

The good news is, there is now an easy way to view Flash-enabled, IE-only websites in Linux.

The bad news is, it does involve putting IE on your computer.

A utility called “IEs4Linux” automates the entire process of downloading, installing, and configuring the latest versions of IE and Flash to run in a Wine environment. It’ll even install icons on your KDE or GNOME desktop so you don’t have to load it from CLI or dig for it in an application menu. It’s a simple case of downloading the tarball, unpacking it, and running a shell script. Answer a few questions and IEs4Linux does the rest. Within five minutes you’ll have a more or less fully functional IE6 installation, ready to run. (Note, however, that you will need both Wine and cabextract installed for IEs4Linux to work; both should be installable from most major apt-get and Portage repositories.)

I’ve personally tested this on some websites that sometimes give Linux browsers fits, for one reason or another - YouTube, Homestar Runner, Runescape, 4chan’s /f/ board - and it passed with flying colors; it should work with just about any non-Firefox-friendly website out there. The only major drawback is that you must, legally, accept Microsoft’s typically Byzantine EULAs to use IE even in this environment. (Semi-legally, however… well, that’s another story, perhaps, and while I don’t condone using software without agreeing to all the terms and conditions of that use, what you do is your own business… just don’t blame me if the Party Van shows up in your driveway!)

On the other hand, maybe it’s better to boycott IE-only sites altogether and thus protest the ongoing “Microsoftization” of the Web… Still, for those looking to gradually wean themselves off Windows, here’s something that might just make it an easier transition.

If you liked that, try...

1. Flash 9 Beta for Linux Goes Public… Finally
2. Acid3 Test Is Good To Go
3. Firefox 2.0 released
4. The Internet vs. Firefox? UPDATED
5. Linux Needs To Be Like Windows?

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1 Comment »

Comment by Migo

2006-09-20 21:55:59

I can’t believe I’d forgotten all about IEs4Linux. You forgot to explain that it installs versions 5, 5.5, and 6.

I wonder if they’ll release IE7 under IEs4Linux when it comes out…

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