Follow up:

IE is my browser of choice. Perhaps it's simply a case of familiarity. I know what I'm doing & I know where to go look when things go wrong. Hmmm...brilliant flash of insight (yes I do have them once in awhile!)...sounds a lot like my journey from XP to Vista! My change from IE6 on XP to IE7 on Vista was really painless enough. In fact, I now run IE7 with XP on my PC, tho on the old laptop I still prefer IE6 as it affords me the ability to help others if they're having troubles. I'm told some of the new features I've come to enjoy are also in some of those, ahem, other browswers out there as well. In all truth, I suppose having AOL on the PC really does count as a second browser does it not? I'm not afraid of that! And I'm certainly not afraid of other new programs. BETA is one of my favorite words. For most people what could be scarier than that?

IFS is a terrible affliction. It suppresses the feel good endorphins in the brain. The ones making you feel pleased when you install something new & find all the great benefits & features it has to offer. (In the case of beta it's hoping all works without any problems while secretly harboring a hope you can find a way to break it - just so you can send in an error report LOL...some of you know what I mean don't you??) Endorphin suppression by IFS creates the opposite atmosphere - one where terror overcomes the user. Trembling fingers make them unable to click the download button. Even when they can manage to align the mouse to click it, the "run" or "save" butttons become larger than life...seemingly coming through the monitor...sucking the life force out of said user. Dramatic? I'm being overly dramatic? Well now, you've obviously not experienced the effects of IFS have you? And besides, when have you ever known ME to be dramatic? (Don't answer that - rhetorical you know!!)

The mere mention of Slimbrowser, Firefox or Netscape to name a few (the only ones I know) leaves me trembling with fear. I know so many people (ok maybe half a dozen to be truthful) who have some or all of them. And they've no problems at all...but when I think of them on my machines?...Well I'm not sure I can do it! What if there are conflicts? What if it causes a crash? Oh horrors! What would I do if I get the blue screen of death? How could I ever recover? What? What's that you say? Just like I do any other time there are problems? Oh do tell...I'm sure it couldn't possibly be THAT simple!

There's a wee part of me wanting to install one of them right now...just to see what happens...just to prove I can do it! But given my OCD & all, I'd more than likely have to install ALL of them I could find. Then there's the fact I'm often hopping between two laptops, I'd have to have them all on both of them wouldn't I? What if XP & Vista don't play the same with them? Oh the time it would take to install them all on two machines, it could take hours right? Now, what other excuses can I come up with? I'm running a little low on them at the moment.

Then my swirling whirling mind...the one that's a rather scary place at times...comes into play...saying "Don't do it! You KNOW what could happen!" Do I really know? Or do I just THINK something bad will happen? Oh my, decisions...decisions. I think for now I'll sit & ponder the choices a bit longer. As interested as I am in trying out some of those browsers, I don't think I've quite worked up the courage to conquer my IFS just yet. I can't hit the download button with glee. I'm sure when I finally do I'll find the fear was all for nowt. Some of you will be quick to remind me of just how silly my fears were....and probably with good reason. But for now - I think I'll think on it a bit more before moving forward with the standard therapy for IFS - the "just do it" and push the button cure.