IE6: The browser that won't die
Web designers around the world have long hated the Internet Explorer 6 browser because of its idiosyncrasies. The eight-year old browser, which is still in widespread use today despite better alternatives such as IE8, Firefox, Opera and Safari, renders HTML pages in such a way that it is largely incompatible with most other browsers. The result, for Web developers, is that they often have to develop two parallel versions of their sites; one for IE6 users and one for other users with more standards-compliant browsers.
Internet Explorer 6 was first released on August 27 2001, which means that it will turn eight years old in the coming week, a significantly old age in an industry which is known for its rapid turnaround of applications. And yet, despite its dated appearance, IE6 simply refuses to slip quietly into the background and is still in widespread use around the world. This in spite of efforts by even Microsoft to push users to upgrade and a growing chorus of opposition from Web developers tired of catering to the dated product.
Declining use
Although Internet Explorer 6 is used significantly less now than it was a year ago, it still accounts for a sizeable chunk of web browsers on the Internet. According to analyst NetApplications, IE6’s market share in July 2008 was just over 40%. A year on and that has dropped significantly to 27.2%. And yet, despite this decline in popularity, IE6 is still the most popular browser, ahead of Explorer 7 with 23% market share and Firefox 3 with 16%. Which is why groups of developers have started campaigns calling for the end of IE6.
Microsoft, however, says that while it agrees that IE6 ought to be relegated to the rubbish tip of history it is not in a position to force this on users. Part of the reason for IE6’s continued use is its relationship with Windows XP. IE6 was shipped as the default browser for Windows XP and as long as Windows XP continues to survive so will IE6. Many businesses that still use Windows XP also rely heavily on Internet Explorer 6 for their systems and are reluctant to move because of the costs of re-tooling their processes to work on other platforms.
The other reason IE6 remains so common, says Microsoft, is piracy. Amy Barzdukas, Microsoft’s general manager for Internet Explorer told ComputerWorld (http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9136739/Microsoft_Friends_don_t_let_friends_use_IE6_) that Windows XP’s high piracy rate in countries such as India and China was partly to blame. She said that users that had pirated Windows XP were reluctant to use the automatic updates feature of Windows which meant they would not be inclined to update to a more recent browser.
Beyond IE6
Released in October 2006, Internet Explorer 7, a more standards-compatible browser than IE6, was released. The intention was that IE7 replace IE6 as the browser of choice for Windows users. And yet, despite almost two years having passed since its launch, Internet Explorer 7 now accounts for just 23% of global browser use, 4% behind IE6. In truth that number should probably be higher than that but in March this year Microsoft released Internet Explorer 8 which has already started to make an impression on the market. No doubt many users that had already upgraded to IE7 have subsequently upgraded to IE8.
Internet Explorer 8 is Microsoft’s most standards-compatible browser to date but even it has problems luring users across. Microsoft has had to build in a compatibility feature for IE8 to help users switch between two viewing modes for when they need to view sites built to cater for the older IE6 and IE7 browsers.
Internet Explorer 6 will, however, continue to be used for many years to come as Microsoft says that it is committed to supporting Windows XP and therefore IE6 until April 2014. It is only at that point that Microsoft will be in a position to flip the switch on IE6 and let it die.
Internet Explorer 6 discussion
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