okay, but the complaints you make against IE are huge, by comparison to the minor perceived benefits you mention. Plus, yes, it'd be great if firefox was functionally integrated with the OS, but IE was not just functionally integrated, it was integrated in a similar way to two siamese twins sharing the same liver, not healthy for either.
Functional is one thing, crippled and compromising each other's integrity is another.
Plus, i think you'll find that enhancing the user experience is low on microsoft's priority list, same as those independent developers mentioned earlier. they're like western governments in this regard, instead of giving the punters what they want, just repeatedly bully them over and over into thinking they want whatever crap's being forced down their throats and then if they complain, just ignore them. The public/consumers'll soon get the idea that they have to take what they're given whether they like it or not.