I just hope these make believe test pages don't fool the end users :(
While these tests are certainly biased, they do show that MSIE is at least progressing now (as opposed to standing completely still for years and years) with regards to standards compliance and HTML5.
And really... Would you want end users on MSIE6/7/8 or MSIE 9? For the group of users with no technical interest, sadly that is usually the choice you have.
The problem is that it isn't a choice of MSIE6/7/8 or MSIE9, it is MSIE6/7/8 AND 9. Maybe I've just been burnt one too many times, but they really should just give up. Sure, it might pass a few tests here and there, but MSIE9 will just be ANOTHER buggy web browser whose idiosyncrasies web designers will have to consider when they build someone a web site.
Anyone can make software to pass standardized test, but take my word for it, MSIE9 is just another MS browser full of wildly inconsistent renderings of simple HTML, a half baked Javascript implementation and fruity vendor specific extensions that developers will have to cater for.
The problem is that it isn't a choice of MSIE6/7/8 or MSIE9, it is MSIE6/7/8 AND 9.
While it hasn't always been that way, at least lately (since MSIE7 and 8) Microsoft has been working hard to get rid of the older versions as well and the newer versions (while certainly not perfect) most definitly improves on the shitty standards support found in MSIE 6.
In MS's latest technet newsletter there is even a link to a paper on virtualizing older versions of MSIE so you can upgrade to something modern while retaining compatibility with older legacy apps requiring MSIE 6. [1]
So while MS can be blamed for producing MSIE 6, the blame for that MSIE is still around lies entirely in corporate IT and them not using the options they most definitely have for getting rid of it for mainstream use.
Comments
I just hope these make believe test pages don't fool the end users :(
While these tests are certainly biased, they do show that MSIE is at least progressing now (as opposed to standing completely still for years and years) with regards to standards compliance and HTML5.
And really... Would you want end users on MSIE6/7/8 or MSIE 9? For the group of users with no technical interest, sadly that is usually the choice you have.
The problem is that it isn't a choice of MSIE6/7/8 or MSIE9, it is MSIE6/7/8 AND 9. Maybe I've just been burnt one too many times, but they really should just give up. Sure, it might pass a few tests here and there, but MSIE9 will just be ANOTHER buggy web browser whose idiosyncrasies web designers will have to consider when they build someone a web site.
Anyone can make software to pass standardized test, but take my word for it, MSIE9 is just another MS browser full of wildly inconsistent renderings of simple HTML, a half baked Javascript implementation and fruity vendor specific extensions that developers will have to cater for.
MSIE6/7 and 8 aren't going anywhere soon.
The problem is that it isn't a choice of MSIE6/7/8 or MSIE9, it is MSIE6/7/8 AND 9.
While it hasn't always been that way, at least lately (since MSIE7 and 8) Microsoft has been working hard to get rid of the older versions as well and the newer versions (while certainly not perfect) most definitly improves on the shitty standards support found in MSIE 6.
In MS's latest technet newsletter there is even a link to a paper on virtualizing older versions of MSIE so you can upgrade to something modern while retaining compatibility with older legacy apps requiring MSIE 6. [1]
So while MS can be blamed for producing MSIE 6, the blame for that MSIE is still around lies entirely in corporate IT and them not using the options they most definitely have for getting rid of it for mainstream use.
[1] http://www.dabcc.com/documentlibrary/file/Solutions_for_Virt...