Filed under: Windows, Microsoft, Mozilla, Freeware, Open Source
Bring Down IE6
by Jason Clarke Mar 22nd 2009 at 2:00PM
I'm not really one for joining causes online (Facebook has rid me of any desire for that), but as far as geeky technical causes go, Bring Down IE6 by the folks at .NET Magazine is a good one. Internet Explorer 6 is the bane of pretty much every web designer or developer's existence. Things that work beautifully in all of the standards-compliant browsers (and even for the most part in modern versions of IE) require time-consuming and painful work-arounds just to get them sort of working.
The frustrating thing is that if Microsoft wanted to do something about the situation to ease the pain of the countless numbers of people building websites, they have it in their power to do so. The problem for web developers is that IE6 is still used by a frighteningly large percentage of people online. How can this be? Well, many unfortunate corporate workers are stuck using Windows 2000, and do not have permission to install or even use a portable version of a standards-compliant alternative browser like Firefox. These people are using IE6 because it is the only option available to them.
As much as Microsoft would like to force everyone to upgrade to XP / Vista / Windows 7, the truth is that for many companies, the Windows 2000 licenses that they already own work just fine for their needs.
What Microsoft should do is acknowledge that Windows 2000 is still being actively used, and make later versions of Internet Explorer available as an update for Windows 2000. Yes, I realize that Windows 2000 is no longer an officially supported platform by Microsoft, but that just points to the disconnect between what Microsoft wishes people would do, and what they are actually doing.
Also, if you're in IT at a company that is still clinging to Windows 2000, for the love of all that is good, please add a modern browser to your standard install image. They're free, and they're a hell of a lot more secure than IE6 is. Pick one; Firefox, Opera, Safari, or even Google's currently-in-beta Chrome browser. Any of these is a better choice than IE6.
And if you're a web developer, consider using a simple script to provide a gentle reminder to IE6 users that they need to upgrade.
Let's all let IE6 die the death it so richly deserves.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jason said 2:08PM on 3-22-2009
Yeah good luck with that. There are people still using IE4 and Netscape.
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DeoWulf said 2:30PM on 3-22-2009
I know someone who uses IE4 simply because it allows him to be logged on as different users simultaneously on the same site, which apparently no modern browser supports.
sjones411 said 2:31PM on 3-22-2009
Google Chrome actually left Beta. Shocking, I know :O. However, if Google wants to get any OEM deals, they can't keep the Beta tag on for 6 years.
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David said 8:13PM on 3-22-2009
Seconding that notion, it sounds like lazy journalism to me here considering this site also reported that Google release 1.0 of chrome.
Quikboy said 2:56PM on 3-22-2009
Just looking at that picture, I wouldn't have known we were talking about IE6. I'd have read it I6E.
The problem isn't just Windows 2000 support. I think there are important sites that employees might need to access that work well in IE6-only, so it's still quite necessary. Until THOSE sites update themselves to regular standards, these companies have no motivation to allow users to move on to the next thing. There's also the Group policy thing that IE supports.
Also, I think that employees that work at corporation mostly do work, right? Maybe they most access sites that are work-related, so those sites probably work with IE6 by default? I don't think an employee is suppose to go surfing around the web and these sites need to cater an IE6 version to employees like this.
Companies should at least upgrade to XP - it's been here for so long, and it's not too expensive. Seems more like IT is just too lazy.
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Mike Cerm said 2:57PM on 3-22-2009
I think the idea that Microsoft should wake up and make IE8 available to Win2K users is totally ridiculous, and would do nothing to to change anything. Continuing to support a 9-year old OS is just stupid.
2K isn't even the problem. Even if Microsoft made newer versions of IE available, it still wouldn't matter. Plenty of businesses running XP are still using IE6. For what they expect of their workers, it's sufficient. They have no reason to test and deploy IE7 or 8. It's just not important whether Digg's AJAX comment system works right or not.
Likewise, the IT people supporting 2K aren't likely to make any changes (obviously). They could be using Firefox right now, but they aren't. Even if there was a newer version of IE, what makes you think they'd move to that (when even the XP people haven't yet)?
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RP said 11:52PM on 3-22-2009
My thoughts exactly. Obviously they're not feeling enough pain to make them try Firefox, so ignore them.
Gobelet said 4:33PM on 4-08-2009
Um, mostly because Firefox doesn't support Domain Authentication. IE (6 or higher, doesn't matter) is automatically recognized by websites build on the Active Directory controller. This is why they won't change browsers at work...
r3loaded said 4:44PM on 3-22-2009
Considering the buzz being generated around Windows 7, I sincerely hope that this time around, many companies decide to make the leap and migrate to a new operating system, where IE8 will come as standard.
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BrianM said 5:11PM on 3-22-2009
Why do you think Microsoft is a charity, so what if customers want to use Windows 2000 still, how can Microsoft make money providing free updates and enhancements to Windows 2000? Forget the additional expense paying developers, testing, support calls, patching, etc. etc. etc.
Hell customers want to download free movies and music, does not mean that it is the best business model for the entertainment industries to provide that.
re: "Yes, I realize that Windows 2000 is no longer an officially supported platform by Microsoft, but that just points to the disconnect between what Microsoft wishes people would do, and what they are actually doing. "
Idiot!
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bugmenot said 6:23PM on 3-22-2009
We use XP at work with IE6. From what I am told, it is due to our CRM program's limitations.
Luckily, I am able to use Firefox portable off my mem stick for surfing at lunch and down times. I just had to add in the proxy settings.
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nitrous9200 said 7:16PM on 3-22-2009
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2005/05/27/422721.aspx
IE7 on Windows 2000 - it's never happening.
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Miguel said 7:32PM on 3-22-2009
I hate IE6. It makes my job a living hell.
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Arnie said 7:41PM on 3-22-2009
I use IE6 @ work in addition because that is the only browser allowed and officially allowed in my Fortune500 company. I hate it makes me feel like I am living in another era.
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Aalaap Ghag said 12:42AM on 3-23-2009
I second this and I'm going to use it for all my personal projects, but I can't seem to be able to convince clients to be a part of this! :-(
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KarlW said 5:24AM on 3-23-2009
Microsoft doesn't care about the state of internet standards; in fact - they'd prefer it if internet standards didn't exist and everything was proprietary.
Do you remember how this mess started? Microsoft wanted to lock the internet to be a windows-only feature, so they decided to add lots of proprietary junk, break web standards, and make IE the only browser that could show web pages properly. Since IE was windows-only, it would make windows the only platform you could use the internet on.
Just ask Netscape.
Internet standards exist for the other guys. Companies like Apple or Google or the Linux community, who use minority platforms. They can't afford not to have internet support on their platforms, and the only way they can ensure they do is to make the web play by standards.
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Fips said 8:55AM on 3-23-2009
The other alternative is to campaign for web developers to stop catering to IE6's quirks, allowing them to build standards compliant websites without having to bend over backwards to make them work on obsolete software. Whilst workarounds are being implemented, and these websites still work with IE6, there is less of an incentive for companies or individuals to make the move.
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LazarX said 6:43PM on 3-25-2009
Latest piece of software to be forcefed to us at work:
An IE6 emulator for our IE7 to run Blue Pumpkin time management software. "Because that's the version they paid for."
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