Fast? IE6 was released in 2001 and people didn't start "dropping support" until 2008 or 2009.

Unencrypted email is like unencrypted telephone calls. Imagine how to get the world to switch to using encrypted handsets.

GSM communication is actually encrypted [1], albeit lightly.

I remember having an unencrypted NMT handset and ditching it circa 2000 in favor of a GSM handset. NMT support was dropped by my service provider 3-4 years later.

So transitions like this are definitely possible, though not overnight. Remember the slow introduction of https.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSM#GSM_service_security

I think the parent comment was referring to end-to-end encrypted handsets. Phone calls are like email in that only some hops are encrypted.

You're forgetting POTS lines. I can call someone on a POTS line, with a 1992 handset, and it works the same as if I called someone with a brand new GSM phone.

Right. But at the same time, you don't see any of the forklift upgrades that have gone on behind the scenes. All the GSM<->POTS or long-distance POTS calls? They're all being converted to VoIP at some point (private network, but still IP).

You are correct.

I can't remember calling a landline last couple years, except for public offices and banks.

Perhaps "fast" is a relative term. But nothing starts until a decision is made. So! Let's make the decision and move forward.