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IE6countdown.com – a wolf in sheep's clothing

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Re: IE6countdown.com – a wolf in sheep's clothing

#141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's their take on XBox 360 games? Oh, yeah, about that.

The XBox is not being billed as a 'Post-PC era' device unlike the iDevices.

Microsoft will never sell a post-PC device until their main revenue depends on PC software...

In time they will, but now now and not in the next couple years.

Re: IE6countdown.com – a wolf in sheep's clothing

#143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I want them to upgrade to a modern browser. IE8 aint one.

IE8 is leaps and bounds better than IE6. In IE8 you barely even need to tweak sites to get them to look right. I'd be tickled pink if IE8 was all I had to worry about. IE9 is going to be much better than IE8 -- by leaps and bounds -- but it's still in beta. At least the release candidate is out. Some people are never satisfied and always need something to complain about. I'm sure you'll find something else once IE9 i…

> Microsoft IS NOT going to suggest that people download Firefox or Chrome.

I've heard (I don't own or use Windows) that they were legally forced to enable choice in Windows (like shown on screenshots at http://www.freeemailtutorials.com/microsoftWindows/defaultWe...)

Re: IE6countdown.com – a wolf in sheep's clothing

#145
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's true, but on the other hand, as TFA points out, IE8 is the latest that a WinXP user can ever get from Microsoft, which is two-years old and practically outdated now. Linking IE6 users to IE8 is progress, sure, but useless given that they could be running Chrome or Firefox, which are actually modern browsers.

And how old is Win XP?

It doesn't matter. It's the most popular operating system in the world, no matter how old it is.

Re: IE6countdown.com – a wolf in sheep's clothing

#146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The XBox is not being billed as a 'Post-PC era' device unlike the iDevices.

Microsoft will never sell a post-PC device until their main revenue depends on PC software... In time they will, but now now and not in the next couple years.

oops... "until most of their revenue no longer depends on..."

Sorry. Too late to edit.

Re: IE6countdown.com – a wolf in sheep's clothing

#147
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The issue is less that they link to their own browser, and more that the likely outcome is that it will push the adoption of another nearly obsolete browser.

Hey, I don't know if you've noticed the pattern over the past 15 years, but there's always another "obsolete" browser. You can't "win", it's just about the progress. There is no point in the past 15 years where you've been able to just code to the latest beta of your favorite browser and nothing else.

[deleted]

Re: IE6countdown.com – a wolf in sheep's clothing

#149
post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess you missed the articles here about about Microsoft's massive commitment to backward compatibility and why they do it? From just the other day : http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2281045 and http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/APIWar.html Ditching the current rendering engine would break a ton of apps.

Those “web” apps are then already broken, by definition.

They're not 'web' apps, they're apps built to a specific platform.

Many of those are internal intranet apps, and some are not even networked - they're actual apps that use the IE rendering engine for UI.

You may not like that they're not built to your "web" standard (or whatever that standard was 10 years ago), but other people just care if their apps still work.

These apps are built to a Windows platform, and not a web standard. A platform that the current IE rendering engine is a component of. MSFT has a commitment to backward compatibility for some very strong business reasons.

And people build to MSFT's platforms and buy their operating systems, in part, because of this commitment to compatibility.

Re: IE6countdown.com – a wolf in sheep's clothing

#150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not my reason, and I've never once mentioned it. I don't care a bit about other people's security. It's an important issue, but life is short, and I've got other stuff to worry about. My applications have to run in people's browsers...if there are a significant number of people using crappy old browsers (of which IE8 is one), it affects my life and my use of time.

Alright, well I'm in security and I want people off Windows XP. What now? Do we fight over who has the more self-serving agenda? Please. Since when did Hacker News become about pandering to software development subfields?

"Since when did Hacker News become about pandering to software development subfields?"

Since always.

But, that's not the point. This whole conversation is about Microsoft referring people to a site that will help them upgrade their browser...the majority of people seeing the message and following those steps, will be upgrading to a browser that just isn't up to snuff.

The page it links to does not show people how to upgrade their OS. You're the one taking this conversation in an entirely unrelated direction, and bringing OS security into the discussion. I'm complaining because the whole IE countdown thing is a nuisance rather than a help.

And, again, the OS people run is not my concern. The browser with which they use my applications, however, is my concern. Getting people to upgrade their OS is Microsoft's problem, not mine. But, by recommending an old browser for their users that haven't upgraded from XP, they're making their problem into my problem. I'm tired of dealing with Microsoft's problems, and I don't think it's fair that they use their market clout to keep putting their problems on my plate.

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