Google phases out support for IE6

[demoleft]

Source: bbc

Google has begun to phase out support for Internet Explorer 6, the browser identified as the weak link in a cyber attack on the search engine.

The firm said from 1 March some of its services, such as Google Docs, would not work "properly" with the browser.

It recommended individuals and firms upgrade "as soon as possible".
...
Hackers used a flaw in Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) browser to target the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8488751.stm

[tomm2thumbs]

1. Finally - that thing is a mess

there are so many sites in support of kicking that old mess to the curb, it isn't even funny

just one comment should give a good idea of why Google did this - 'Released in 2001, IE6 fails to even properly support the CSS 1.0 standard from 1996.'

http://www.free-the-web.com/

[bitchkitty]

3. I stopped using code hacks for it 2 years ago.

I got tired of having to make allowances for Microsoft's mistake.

[ShamelessHussy]

6. if you do have to support it, make sure you use IE conditional comments

that makes life much easier, especially when new IE browsers come out, and old ones go away.

[SpiralHawk]

2. Thanks a pantload, Bill Gates & Microsoft

Why does it inspire NO CONFIDENCE that you are now pimping globally for genetically modified mutant food, and for universal 'vaccination.'

[Gore1FL]

8. IE 6 was replaced almost 3-4 years ago.

IE 7 was replaced about a year ago. Why are you angry at Microsoft because of other people's failure to upgrade?

[Fearless]

4. Incidentally how much 9 year old internet software is still useful...

*crickets*

[Regret My New Name]

7. Funny how people hold IE 6 up to the standards of todays browers

I'm glad big names are moving away from it. It makes it easier for us little guys to justify the need to ignore it. :P

[boppers]

15. How about: Apache, Lynx, wget, cURL, traceroute, ping...

Okay, I know I'm being a smartass, but a lot of non-MS software from 9 years ago is still useful. MS typically writes convoluted, bloated, messes, that have "planned obsolescence due to bugs", and has done so for a good 20 years now... the K-cars of the software industry.

Meanwhile, software written for a 20-30 year span keeps on chugging along.

[ngant17]

20. technically the K-car engines aren't exactly obsolete

Chrysler sold the license for the K-car 2.2L straight-4 engine to China's FAW (First Automobile Works), the engine was used in some cars since 1996, although the chassis appears to be based on the Audi 100.

The 2.2 did have a tendency to blow head gaskets in the original engines, though.

[ShamelessHussy]

5. there is still such a huge user base, especially from corporations, and that is why I must still

support it :argh:

However, with calls to action like this, it's number will get low enough so most companies (like mine - a fortune 100) will stop supporting it, even sooner.

and didn't i read just the other day about an warning from some EU countries to stop using IE altogether, no matter the version?

anybody got a link to that one?

[CatholicEdHead]

11. Support from corporations comes from custom internal pages

and apps. It is IE 6 or nothing. Sure, Microsoft is pushing IE 8 right now, and it even comes with Compatibility Mode to IE 6, but some custom apps will need to be rewritten from scratch. That is money from the budget many are unable in this economy or unwilling to invest in.

The more corporations move away from XP to 7, the less we will see IE 6 in corporations. That transition will be slow but steady until 2014 when support for XP goes away.

[UpInArms]

12. tried 7 at my office - the intranet functions were abysmal

and my 2 year old multifunction printer and scanner were obsoleted - I reverted to xp pro and my problems went away -

:shrug:

edited to add - have 7 on my home laptop and have no problem, but personal use and business ease are two wholly different things.

also - I use Opera as a browser everywhere - only use IE when some stupid website decides to be incompatible.

[Fearless]

21. Funny... I plugged everything in and it all worked immediately...

Odd... :facepalm:

[UpInArms]

22. glad it worked for you

sorry it didn't work for me

:shrug:

[high density]

17. That's exactly the problem

Corporations have these internal sites that were built in the days of IE 5.5/6 and work in nothing since IE6. IE 8 compatibility mode doesn't fill in the gap. I think you're also right that 7 will finally be the catalyst to fix these issues, or else companies will just continue downgrading to XP indefinitely.

[IDemo]

19. True. I've worked at two major corporations recently

At both places, MS SharePoint compatibility has been the main reason for not being able to delete Internet Exploder from my machines.

[scentopine]

9. Microsoft is turning into the general motors of software -nt

[Regret My New Name]

13. Because other companies are just now phasing out support of MS' 9 year old software?

[scentopine]

23. We have thousands of workers using IE6 because...

the newer versions are still too unstable and are viewed as too vulnerable to hacks - and they don't work with millions of investment in web based automation.

Same with Vista. thousands using word 2000 - we just upgraded to 2003. We will continue to run XP for a few more years - millions of computers don't run the latest MS software. Some approaching 10 year old versions.

That is because MSFT really, really, really fucked up bad. They thought companies people would buy whatever piece of shit software they rolled out.

Companies bought the cool-aide and swallowed hard, they were promised improvements over time by MSFT, and instead they are met with hideous incremental changes and a bloated mess of software.

Windows7 while so far better than vista still isn't anywhere near as useful and innovative as it should be.

The upside is that google/linux and others are now starting to put up a good fight.

Look at Yahoo/Microsoft combo - two bloated, boring web portals - stuck in the land that time forgot - straight out of the AOL playbook.

Microsoft doesn't know how to make money by being anything other than a strong-arm monopoly. Just like GM.

[jmowreader]

14. Not quite...

If General Motors was Microsoft, you'd have to steer Car Explorer 6 with your hands, CE 7 with your feet and CE 8 with your belly. CE 6 would have no taillights because you drive forward not backwards, and you'd have to roll the window down and reach out to open the door in CE 7 because someone in the marketing department decided they needed to add two more LCD screens and the only place to put them was where the door openers were. And Frito's television in Idiocracy would be the model for the CE 8 windshield.

[scentopine]

24. don't forget not being able to start car until you download critical updates :-)

[leftrightwingnut]

16. Agreed. There are many parallels between GM and Microsoft

Microsoft has had many years of near monopolistic market share and its hubris over it dominance has led it to squander that advantage. Its competitors have been focusing on quality all these years and are now delivering truly stunning products. The i-pod, i-phone, droid and google have changed everything. There are, indeed, glimmers of similar brilliance at Microsoft; however, Microsoft's legacy software tarnishes its image at a critical time. The average person now realizes that there are alternatives and doesn't even know or care that these alternatives are not Microsoft products. Widespread acceptance will force these products into the IT departments of companies who have been afraid to waste resources on "incompatible" IT.

And so, the seeds of Microsoft's decline may have been sown, the land tilled by Microsoft's hubris.

The hubris of Microsoft manifests in many ways. One of the most telling is trying to be *the* standard, or adopting other standards and "improving" them to be entirely non-standard and incompatible with non-Microsoft software in brazen attempts to secure its market share. The most damaging manifestation of its hubris is that Microsoft doesn't seem to care what it pushes onto the market because the market will simply swallow it because it has no choice. The hubris could be so ingrained as to send the giant into decline much like GM. If it does happen, like GM's decline, it will be a long one, and many will deny its existence in the face of clear evidence and ridicule those taking market share away.

If nothing fundamental changes at Microsoft, eventually, the tide will turn against Microsoft, and its refusal to adopt and promote international computing standards and inter-operate with other software will work against the company and speed its decline.

Unfortunately, Microsoft and it's main competitors are U.S. companies, so Microsoft will be unable to keep competitors at bay with "Made in USA" labels. :-)

[Tesha]

18. Intellectually bankrupt? (NT)

[alcibiades_mystery]

10. Maybe companies will finally get their IT staff on universal upgrades or switches

IE6 - a disaster of a browser - survives only because so many companies and institutions consider it trivial and unimportant to upgrade to IE7 or 8, or to switch to Firefox or Opera or some other browser. This needs to happen now. Individuals still lagging on their browsers will follow.

Do the world a favor and make IE6 disappear forever. I'm not asking you to switch to Firefox, Chrome, Opera, or Safari. Just get rid of IE6 - even if it's just an upgrade. Make it stop.