I don't think the heavy cost comes from having IT personnel going around to everyone's computer and upgrading the browser. It comes from (a) internal websites t

I don't think the heavy cost comes from having IT personnel going around to everyone's computer and upgrading the browser. It comes from (a) internal websites that were built when IE6 and ActiveX were all the rage, which nobody maintains anymore, and (b) making sure that any other applications which are installed that use the html engine from IE6 still work with IE8's engine, and dealing with any incompatibilities. I think a LOT of corporate infrastructure was built using Microsoft tools during the period when Microsoft was trying to dominate by overwhelming standards-based development, and the consultants that built most of that infrastructure are gone now. Since you can't upgrade IE without replacing IE6, companies are stuck leaving IE6 on the corporate desktops. Could a non-IE browser be installed? Of course, and that solves everything but the training issue: people have to learn to use IE for internal sites and the new browser for outside sites. The issue here is probably more a fear-of-training and fear-of-support than a real cost.