HTML 5 & Internet Explorer 6 - IE6

[morestar]

So I read this article just now about IE6 and how there will be plenty of problems with HTML 5 code.

IE6 Must Die for the Web to Move On

What's your take? As developers how to we promote more compatible browsers to our friends, family and co-workers (or the boss)?

I use all browsers for testing and FireFox for browsing AND upgraded to IE8.

Could the problem with the masses not upgrading be due to the fact that many upon many people don't even know they can update?

Anyways, I just wanted to post a link to the article because it seemed pretty interesting.

Have fun!

[lordspace]

there are sites that they have even a counter

[kgun]

Don't worry. IE 6 will become less and less important. IMO there are other more serious problems with I.E.

Microsoft invented the XMLHttpRequest object (the heart in todays AJAX applications) in 1999. Other companies and W3C soon adopted the standard, but in good Microsoft tradition they used another IMO worse solution.

IE 8 and below is not even W3C DOM compliant.

There are some important links regarding FaceBook etc at the bottom of this AdSchoolWorld: Social Media Optimization page.

We may ask: Is Microsoft's intention to monopolize (corner) the web and make their own standard?

There are other much more important questions / problems:

W3C abandons XHTML2, Increases Resources for HTML5

What about the Canvas tag etc.

http://www.webproworld.com/web-progr...tml#post330575 ???

We are still striving with the bad HTML dialect of XML. It is too early to know the future.

http://www.webproworld.com/google-di...tml#post339093 ?? when more and more new are introduced?

[morestar]

wow i tried the canvas tag: Tryit Editor v1.4

I didn't even know we had a canvas tag in HTML - but note currently only FireFox, Chrome, and Opera supports the canvas - not IE6.

[NJ]

We may ask: Is Microsoft's intention to monopolize (corner) the web and make their own standard?

Great Post! However, I can't image that Microsoft would actually try to monopolize anything or make their own standard! In fact, we are probably just imaging that they have made .NET C++ unfriendly and C# friendly!

[nickseo]

Don't worry. IE 6 will become less and less important. IMO there are other more serious problems with I.E.

Microsoft invented the XMLHttpRequest object (the heart in todays AJAX applications) in 1999. Other companies and W3C soon adopted the standard, but in good Microsoft tradition they used another IMO worse solution.

IE 8 and below is not even W3C DOM compliant.

There are some important links regarding FaceBook etc at the bottom of this AdSchoolWorld: Social Media Optimization page.

We may ask: Is Microsoft's intention to monopolize (corner) the web and make their own standard?

There are other much more important questions / problems:

W3C abandons XHTML2, Increases Resources for HTML5

What about the Canvas tag etc.

http://www.webproworld.com/web-progr...tml#post330575 ???

We are still striving with the bad HTML dialect of XML. It is too early to know the future.

http://www.webproworld.com/google-di...tml#post339093 ?? when more and more new are introduced?

You bring up such a relevant point in this about microsofts monopalisation (note the s in there us crazy europeans) but microsoft has been the one setting the trends for years. the reason we have "file" at the top left on most programs is probably because microsoft put it there in word first. people get so used to having the same layouts and when new programs come out they still follow format of old ones so that we can instantly pick them up and use them. notice then with office 2007 how the layout changed to tabs, and i.e7 changed its layout (really infuriatingly as we all had to get used to a new homepage position). point being, that microsoft can and will change its programs to try and keep people from geting to comfortable with something to stay with them. we dont all have time to get used to using new browsers and try them all out, so if were used to ie, which comes standard on most computers, a lot of people wont even try learning the different layout of ff etc.

[johnWorks]

Because our clients are primarily in B2B enterprise software, we deal with this all the time building sites.

According to a recent Forrester Research study, 60% of companies still use IE6 as their default browser -- blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=17290

Looking at analytics for our clients, thankfully the IE6 share isn't this high, but still tends upwards of 10% out of all visitors -- so it's still something we need to be mindful of.

[langsor]

In my experience -- organizations adopt new technology slowly; government slower still; and individuals, when a friend or relative tells them how cool a new technology is.

I am still reminded how technologically unsophisticated the majority of people are. People are afraid of breaking their computer and incurring costly repairs, by installing software or updates on their own. If they have a friend or nephew or someone to do it for them, they are more likely to get it done.

Personally, my goal is to jump over Vista OS entirely and go from XP to 7, since my last computer purchase came with Vista and it took me some effort to get the XP drivers for the hardware and downgrade to XP. I did try it for a while, just long enough to convince me that maybe I was in the wrong profession and should go back to some other income source than computers.

Likewise, SP3 for XP gives you dire warnings, and getting around to backing everything up before doing an update isn't usually top of my priority list. I did, of course, eventually install SP3 but the average person is less likely to ever get around to it.

Anyway, just a few random thoughts.

Ciao

[wige]

The canvas tag is part of an unofficial specification, and not part of the current HTML specs. This is the reason Microsoft gives for not supporting it, claiming that all the CSS issues that were in IE6 and 7 were the result of adopting an unofficial version of the CSS standard that was different from the final version which the other browsers, released after IE6, had time to implement. They claim that they expect the canvas tag to undergo similar changes before becoming official, and want to wait to support it.

It should also be noted that Canvas is considered proprietary intellectual property of Apple, and Apple has sent Cease and Desist orders to browser authors implementing the tag, including the author of WebKit, the rendering engine for, of all things, the default Apple browser, Safari. Apple did rework the license terms to comply with W3C so that the tag can become royalty free. However, until the W3C makes Canvas part of an official specification, the element will still be considered proprietary and must be licensed by any browser which implements it.

[techmaniac]

I've stated numerous times that IE6 is worthless crapware and developers shouldn't continue to code for it. We must bring an end to the life of an outdated piece of junk that didn't support the standards at the time of release and is woefully amiss of current standards and practices.

Please join me in refusing to support IE6 and coding a message that the end is near.

Your message should read:

"You seem to be stuck in 2001, and can't find the way out. As we are now nearing 2010, I would suggest you upgrade to a relevant browser:"

Link to FF, Safari, Chrome (anything else but IE), then finish with:

As of 'date', we will no longer support Internet Explorer 6. Some features and items will not display properly and your experience on this site will be degraded. Sincerely, MGMT"

It is time to put the stake in the heart of this vampire.