Proof that Microsoft and Eolas love each other (and bra-bra-bra-bra-bra-Brazil)

Click to activate IT Blogwatch: in which Microsoft removes the restriction on ActiveX controls caused by its patent dispute with Eolas. Not to mention where the nuts come from...

Microsoft's Pete LePage offers the good news:

Back in April 2006, we made a change to how Internet Explorer handled embedded controls ... Some sites required users to “click to activate” ... Microsoft has now licensed the technologies from Eolas ... Because of this, we're removing the “click to activate” behavior from Internet Explorer! It’s important (and cool) to note that this change will require no modifications to existing webpages, and no new actions for developers creating new pages. We are simply reverting to the old behavior. [more]

Ed Oswald adds:

In order to appease Eolas, Microsoft made a change to Internet Explorer in March 2006 that prevented ActiveX controls from loading automatically. The functionality changed affected many popular programs that could be embedded into web pages. However, in August, the two sides made up which likely resulted in a large sum of cash being paid to Eolas ... This arrangement would uncripple ActiveX as a way to load content within web pages, and is surely good news for developers. [more]

Sandi Hardmeier reminds us:

A recent US High Court decision cast doubt on whether the original award to EOLAS of $521 would stand. The potential was there for the award to be reduced to $187 million ... There will be a "preview release" incorporating the changes called the "Internet Explorer Automatic Component Activation Preview", which will be available in December 2007 ... [it] will also be made part of the next pre-release versions of Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP SP3. It is anticipated that the change will be released to the general public as part of IE's April 2008 Cumulative Update. [more]

Larry Seltzer makes a footwear analogy:

A couple of months ago Microsoft and Eolas settled just in advance of a second trial ordered by an appeals court. Today the other shoe dropped. [more]

Pete Brown:

One of the most annoying developments over recent years has been the "Click here to active this control" message you get whenever visiting sites that use Flash or other browser plugin technology. The worst is when it is used in a menu or some other critical navigation scheme, and you have to do this for each postback. You can get around that by using script to create the object tag. That's exactly what Silverlight does by default. However, most sites don't seem to have caught on. [more]

"About time," says Ed Bott:

My question is why such a customer-hostile situation was allowed to exist for a year and a half. Anyway, here’s a half-hearted “woo hoo” on behalf of the removal of this silly roadblock. [more]

Dave Massy clearly agrees:

The functionality was a silly workaround to a silly patent. It was annoying but could have been worse. The entire case is best described as silly. It's a great shame if Eolas made any money out of such a patent. [more]

Alex Jones is frustrated:

Great news, though oddly enough it will take another six months to roll out!? This is a feature that was in the app, taken out against everyone’s wishes, including Microsoft, and now, when they have the go-ahead to re-add the feature they are prolonging the rollout until April of 2008. Microsoft is missing out on an opportunity to make the dev community very happy while simultaneously making the Web a better place for everyone. [more]

Clarence Klopfstein:

The great thing about this fix is that it won't break the JavaScript fix that is out there!  Finally something done right from Microsoft.  Now if they'd fix that IE6 bug with DHTML menus and drop down boxes... [more]

Bill Lane grumbles:

This disagreement between MS and Eolas is about money (and probably quite a lot of money) and thats the way the world is. But the internet is bigger than these two companies ... I doubt there has been an internet user anywhere who wasn't affected by this process in some way. Surely they could have continued their negotiations without making us all suffer for it ... a bit of community consideration once in a while probably wouldn't hurt their bottom line. [more]

And finally...

• What's so great about Brazil? Weebl and Drewmo tell us.
  

Buffer overflow:

• Tim O'Reilly: OpenSocial: It's the data, stupid
• Charles Arthur: Time for schools to teach computing, not just train users
• Ryan Paul: An old hat with new tricks: Fedora 8 officially released
• Appletell: Apple releases "Phase" game
• Owen Thomas: Screenshots of first Googlephone app
• Encrypted E-Mail Company Hushmail Spills to Feds

Other Computerworld bloggers:

• Mitch Betts: Modern society relies on 'dangerously fragile' software
• Don Tennant: At least this reader had the courage to identify himself
• Robert L. Mitchell: How to choose the light technology for the job
• Angela Gunn: Your Homeland Security tax dollars at work
• Shark Tank: But hey, that's our kind of user!
• Douglas Schweitzer: Keeping up on terrorists' Internet activity
• Shark Bait: Emergency Webex

Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/adviser/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and spam. A 20 year, cross-functional IT veteran, he is also an analyst at Ferris Research. You too can pretend to be Richi's friend on Facebook, or just use boring old email: blogwatch@richi.co.uk.

Previously in IT Blogwatch:

• Whole Foods Market locks stable door after horse bolts (and woofski!)
• Lenovo launches lightning-fast PCs (and rubbish 419)
• There is no gPhone, but there is an Android (and Dutch radio)