On my sp3 XP with IE7, there is a critical update "IE8 for XP"

Getting IE8 only as an update is discriminatory! People with no internet access will be left behind, stucked with IE6. Errr ... oh wait ...

A program's version is already a "1337 c0nc3pt".

The rest of my family "goes on internet" where we "launch a browser".
They see internet browsing as a part of windows' features.
They have no idea that windows update _exists_

But it's starting to change, although really slowly, I see quite a lot of basic computer users trying out ubuntu or comparing browsers.
Ok, they can't really explain why this one or the other is better but who cares, they still install FF or Opera, and usually stick to it because "Da litl f0x r0x dud3".

These alternate browsers are gaining market shares which is a cool thing for w3c standards, but don't even expect the basic FF user to even know anything on that kind of subject.
He installed it because all his friends use firefox because the geeky friend told them to. End of story.

Same applies to linux, basic home user hear of it and sometimes try to install it to get the thrill of actually having a clue of "how the hell does this damn machine work ?". But you can restrain that category to home users who already know how to install windows properly (ok, make that "who usually manage to get a working install of windows").
That crowd grows slower (probably due to those damned preinstalled systems and their way cool easy "lose your entire documents folder and start again dumbass" recoveries. The basic user takes this as the normal way of fixing a computer.

So yes, the kind of users that you mention exists, it's everybody around us.

Flash news : Steve Ballmer is his own boss now.

"refuse to let it go" or "don't even know that there are more than one browser available" ?

Windows Vista ?

So what ? I'll just bury some coal and build my own compis when it morphes to diamond...