It's getting tougher and tougher to figure out exactly what Microsoft is doing with Internet Explorer (IE). It's not just the IE patches (or lack of them) that are confounding matters. Yesterday, Microsoft announced that it has put on hold modifications to IE that it had committed to make as a result of its browser-plug-in patent loss to Eolas Technologies. Now— just as in the case of the pending IE patches — we don't know when Microsoft will be making these modifications. Sure, Microsoft wants everyone to forget browsers are standalone entities and to pretend that they are just another operating-system component. But this IE madness needs some resolution well before 2006, when IE becomes one with Longhorn. IE Team: Are you listening? OK. Rant over.