After repeated pleas to switch from Internet Explorer 6 and creating a website to kill it off, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has finally figured out the perfect a way to finally wipe IE6 off the face of the planet. The solution, surprisingly, lies in a less than earth-shattering method that has been used by the rival Chrome browser for years now: silent updates.

You see, Microsoft has been playing the nice guy when it comes to updating IE, bundling it as part of Windows Update and offering users the ability to reject an update to a newer version of the browser. In some ways, Microsoft is playing hardball as it plans to perform silent updates of IE starting in January 2012.

You can read more about the details here; in a nutshell, IE6 and IE7 users on Windows XP will find themselves running IE8 when the dust settles, while users on Windows Vista or Windows 7 would wake up to find themselves running IE9.

To its credit, Microsoft doesn't intend to do a world-wide rollout of silent updates, choosing to limit it to users in Australia and Brazil. Presumably, the Redmond-based software giant wants to first iron out the kinks before a wider deployment. My personal opinion, though, is that Microsoft just wants to limit the repercussions and ensure the furor is manageable as users wake up to see their beloved IE6...gone.

As you can imagine, no timetable has been set for the U.S. rollout of silent updates at this point in time. Are silent updates a demonstration of callous disregard for the wishes of its users, or a masterstroke that Microsoft should have figured out earlier? I would love to hear your opinion on this. - Paul Mah  (Twitter @paulmah)