Microsoft updates your internet
Microsoft have recently announced that they will be “silently” upgrading older Internet browsers to a newer and more stable version. Finally I thought, this is great news and it will be rolled out (firstly in Brazil and Australia) in January.
The giant upgrade programme will affect IE users running Windows XP, Vista and 7 with those using Windows XP will be upgraded to IE8, while those on Vista and 7 get bumped up to IE9. I hope beyond hope that these means the end of IE6.
As a professional web designer, IE6 is the bane of my life. It was once an amazing browser, but as times have moved on, it has become, without a doubt, the worst browser to remain in widespread circulation.
It was horrible to design for and caused numerous amounts of headaches. Normal, clean and semantic code, that would display one way (the correct way) in all other browsers; would be displayed differently in IE6. It often required additional code (or hacks) to get your website behaving properly. In short, it was not a standards compliant browser and it liked to shout about it.
I hasten to add, that this is not the browsers fault, but Microsofts. They made it and they made it badly, they neglected it and it spread throughout the internet like a virus. I’m sure it has brought them more hassle that they anticipated.
This is why I hail the recent announcement that IE6 browsers (the majority anyway) will be upgraded. It is a success in that it will bring about a “better”, safer and more compliant internet and browsing experience. Microsoft, you are to be congratulated for your approach, though I do retain some concerns.
Firstly, users can opt out of this update. I hope for their sake and that of a better web, that they (and the companies that they work for) do not, that they embrace this change and plan accordingly. My second and final concern is that Microsoft is still making bad browsers.
Whilst IE8 is a “better” browser than IE6, of that I can assure you, it s still a pretty bad browser, presenting separate challenges. Microsoft has become more prolific in updating and maintaining their latest browsers IE9 (and soon IE10), but there is still a long way to go.
Therefore, I urge you to upgrade your old browsers if necessary, not just for my sake and the web community as a whole, but for your own sake too. You should demand a better web experience from a browser that can handle and support modern day websites and technology; not remain in the past.