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Retiring Internet Explorer

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Re: Retiring Internet Explorer

#111

Post by AstralStorm »

Polylactic_acid wrote: post #100
wvenable wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But that doesn't stop Microsoft from not shipping that small wrapper. They could but that goes back to reply about it existing software still requiring IE. IE will be around for as long as very critical apps still require it. In some form, it might be around forever.

IE should just be a compatibility mode in edge so you only have one program and a button to say "this page is broken, load in legacy mode". That way everyone else in the world can stop being forced to support IE users.

This won't work where ActiveX is required. They would have to write a plug-in wrapper...

Re: Retiring Internet Explorer

#112

Post by _-___________-_ »

derefr wrote: post #32
_-___________-_ wrote: post #4

> Burndown List >> Banking, especially in Asia My bank in China requires Windows + IE + a custom ActiveX control to use their Internet banking. As a result, I don't use it. One of my accounts can be used via their mobile app (if you read Chinese or have another phone to use camera translation). My business account cannot be, and I am therefore required to visit a branch along with my official chop (seal / stamp) when…

I'm surprised Microsoft doesn't just revoke people's licenses to use EOLed Windows, such that they're breaking the law by staying on that version. That'd get crufty corps and orgs moving, no?

It might seem like pedantry, but generally breaching a contract is not "breaking the law". Microsoft would have to also go to the effort of trying to enforce this, and for what?

Re: Retiring Internet Explorer

#113

Post by dbbk »

taf2 wrote: post #12

We fully stopped supporting IE11. Refactoring code to use ES6 and reducing code size by 20% is proving a big win for the vast majority of customers. If any customers are still on IE11 - they can run Edge, which now that that is Edgium we have even more code size reduction we can implement to improve load time and user experience.

You can even do differential bundles if you want to go to the effort of setting it up. So IE11 users get one legacy build of your JS client, and modern browsers (with module support) get the simpler modern code.

Re: Retiring Internet Explorer

#114

Post by criddell »

paulddraper wrote: post #96
sjwright wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Correct, iexplore.exe is itself a small wrapper. But that doesn't stop Microsoft from not shipping that small wrapper. Software that embeds mshtml.dll does not require the existence of the exe file. (Or alternatively, Microsoft could put some hack into Windows so that attempts to run iexplore.exe are passed to Edge unless the administrator has twiddled with some arbitrary registry key or group policy.)

> But that doesn't stop Microsoft from not shipping that small wrapper. But what's the benefit of complicating the install?

1. Most people will never install it.

2. A smaller OS.

3. A more secure OS (the wrapper probably isn't bug free).

Re: Retiring Internet Explorer

#115

Post by paulddraper »

criddell wrote: post #114
paulddraper wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But that doesn't stop Microsoft from not shipping that small wrapper. But what's the benefit of complicating the install?

1. Most people will never install it. 2. A smaller OS. 3. A more secure OS (the wrapper probably isn't bug free).

> the wrapper probably isn't bug free

This probably only matters if it's attempted to be used.

I will concede that you will save a few MB on your multi-GB Windows install.

Re: Retiring Internet Explorer

#116

Post by himinlomax »

_-___________-_ wrote: post #110
rahimnathwani wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"My bank in China requires Windows + IE + a custom ActiveX control to use their Internet banking. As a result, I don't use it." Why not have a VM just for internet banking? Surely that's easier than taking the chop out of the safe and waiting in line at the branch.

Yeah, I thought about it. But I don't know how I could keep the VM secure, so I might end up doing my Internet banking on a malware-infested system. I wouldn't trust myself to keep the latest version of Windows secure, given that I haven't used Windows in over a decade, so I'm pretty sure I can't be trusted to keep XP safe. (As far as I'm aware, the "security" software that the bank's ActiveX control communicates wit…

> But I don't know how I could keep the VM secure,

It's simple, really.

Set up the VM. Do a snapshot. Every time you need to use the shit website, launch the VM, open the site in IE and nothing else. When you're done, shut down the VM and reset it to the known good snapshot.

There. Secure.

Re: Retiring Internet Explorer

#117

Post by WorldMaker »

mwcampbell wrote: post #85

> IE9 was a fantastic, best-of-its-time browser, and I’ll forever be proud of it. But as IE9 wound down and the Windows 8 adventure began, it was already clear that its lead would not last against the Chrome juggernaut. This is tangential, but I wonder how Chrome got so far ahead, not in market share but in features and quality, even with IE's 10+ year head start. Did Google just throw more programmers at the problem…

> I wonder how Chrome got so far ahead, not in market share but in features and quality

"features" and "quality" are subjective metrics. Win the marketshare and you win the mindshare. It's a big part of why the browsers wars have always been monopolistic. The best browser is always just the one "everyone uses". Even its bugs/quirks/oddities become "features" that other browsers need to support, have to "catch up" on, get encoded into standards eventually as "the way it has always been".

Re: Retiring Internet Explorer

#118

Post by forgotmypw »

unilynx wrote: post #56
forgotmypw wrote: post #52

I know I'm in the minority on this, but I love the feel of IE, it feels like the most OS-integrated browser I've ever used. Of course, Trident was based off the same layout engine as MS Office, so that makes sense. I still make my sites work in IE, down to IE4, and probably 1-3 too, I just haven't had a chance to test them yet. I think that in the retro-computing world, IE will be one of the longest browsers still in…

I don't know about IE1 and 3, but for IE2 (the one that shipped with NT4) you need at least, from what I remember: - no name-based virtual hosting (it does HTTP 1.0 but doesn't send Host headers) - avoid redundant whitespace (it's not collapsed) - wrap and contents in , otherwise they will be visible I've had to keep an application's webinterface IE2 compatible ("usable") for longer than I wanted to as the initial co…

Thanks for the info on the whitespace. I think I have a post-processing solution for that, which may work.

I will work to find an NT4 original ISO and get IE2 that way.

I've been doing the commenting thing, and found out that Mosaic treats >, not --> as the end of comment token, so I had to remove all > characters from my JS. :D

Re: Retiring Internet Explorer

#119

Post by _-___________-_ »

himinlomax wrote: post #116
_-___________-_ wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I thought about it. But I don't know how I could keep the VM secure, so I might end up doing my Internet banking on a malware-infested system. I wouldn't trust myself to keep the latest version of Windows secure, given that I haven't used Windows in over a decade, so I'm pretty sure I can't be trusted to keep XP safe. (As far as I'm aware, the "security" software that the bank's ActiveX control communicates wit…

> But I don't know how I could keep the VM secure, It's simple, really. Set up the VM. Do a snapshot. Every time you need to use the shit website, launch the VM, open the site in IE and nothing else. When you're done, shut down the VM and reset it to the known good snapshot. There. Secure.

Well, this assumes that it won't be compromised during an Internet banking session. Since I have a workaround (use the mobile app for personal banking, go to the bank for business stuff - which I don't need to do often) it doesn't seem worth the trouble and risk.

Re: Retiring Internet Explorer

#120

Post by himinlomax »

_-___________-_ wrote: post #119
himinlomax wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But I don't know how I could keep the VM secure, It's simple, really. Set up the VM. Do a snapshot. Every time you need to use the shit website, launch the VM, open the site in IE and nothing else. When you're done, shut down the VM and reset it to the known good snapshot. There. Secure.

Well, this assumes that it won't be compromised during an Internet banking session. Since I have a workaround (use the mobile app for personal banking, go to the bank for business stuff - which I don't need to do often) it doesn't seem worth the trouble and risk.

How would it be compromised if you only connect to the bank?
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