Out with the old, in with the new

There’s been a lot of controversy in the News recently surrounding Microsoft’s legacy browser, the infamous Internet Explorer 6.  Many of you will no-doubt remember the days when Windows XP was released and IE6 became the stable browser of choice, fending off such rivals as Netscape.  But those days seem far off now and many haven’t upgraded to the newer versions of the browser.  Now unlike upgrading to the latest model of your prized automobile which has the same method of putting in fuel as the models five years prior to it and require the same techniques to drive, the variations in browser versions are drastically different.

This wouldn’t cause such a problem if it weren’t for the fact that each version of IE displays a webpage differently.  And IE displays a page in a different way to Firefox, Safari, Chrome, etc. This means that web agencies are constantly having to build sites that function and display identically across all the browsers and versions.  However due to many of the developments on web technologies and web agencies themselves developing their techniques, creating smooth user experiences and a tightening of secruity methods, the old browsers are causing everyone a bit of a headache.

The BBC has already reported that France and Germany are convincing internet users to move away from IE6 in favour of the newest version or a different browser all together (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8465038.stm).  Google too have announced that they will cease support, and movements in both the US and UK are suggesting similar action.(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8492862.stm)  More governments and large corporations are predicted to follow suit, so does this mean that we can finally abandon support for IE6?

While Microsoft have defended their product, claiming that they will continue to support IE6 until 2014, the vast majority of the web community are arguing that it is holding back the development of the web and that until we stop supporting it and move on, it is going to linger like Friday’s curry on a Monday morning!

Now enough of all this serious talk, for a light-hearted look at the rise and fall of IE6, Smashing Magazine have put together a quirky little comic for your viewing pleasure: (http://media.smashingmagazine.com/cdn_smash/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/IE6_final.jpg).