Internet Explorer? Er, what's that? ;-)
Almost all of the 'regulars', here in AB's Technology section, ditched IE years ago. Nearly everyone (up until this week) has been using Firefox. It's far quicker, more stable, more secure and more flexible than any version of IE:
http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/
Of course, this week, there's been a rush to try Chrome. Despite a few security concerns, the reviews are generally good:
http://www.google.com/chrome
I can't think of any type of software where Microsoft leads the way. Open Office (which is free) is just as good as Microsoft Office. Microsoft Publisher is matched by several free programs (and is far, far inferior to Quark Xpress), .. Oh, I could go on for ages. There's a simple rule: If it's Microsoft, there's got to be something much, much better available!
Chris