Comments on: IE’s Decline Makes ‘Cross Browser’ More Relevant

By: PatrickSamphire

PatrickSamphire — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 14:19:36 +0000

How come just about every discussion ends up as a discussion of IE6 and its crapness? (Not that it isn’t crap, but it’s like someone out there has an ‘IE6 is crap’ script that posts the comments to every single thread, no matter what.)

By: hirtman

hirtman — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:45:05 +0000

It’s time for everyone to upgrade that old browser. The common user has no idea about the difficulties of supporting IE6. If developers stop worrying about conforming to it, except for a little note that informs the user to upgrade their browser, eventually people will catch the drift.

By: Tom N.

Tom N. — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:42:51 +0000

Now if IE would just go away my work would just be so easy.

Amen to that! I spent some time yesterday creating extra .js functions just to get some simple hover states to work in IE6. About 88% of our users still connect to our site via IE6, I wish there was a way to abolish it…

By: A-OK

A-OK — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 01:58:26 +0000

Cross-browser compatibility? If making sure your website works on all browsers takes a lot of time and effort for you, you’re not a good web developer.

By: Canciller

Canciller — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 23:29:21 +0000

I just left IE6… tired of Microsoft stupidity.

By: Stew

Stew — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:13:08 +0000

Opera do great work and make some great headways, but no one in the “real world” really cares about them. They have no visible effect on the web as far as everyday users ( and therefore clients ) are concerned. It seems more often than not, in my experience,that the only people talking about Opera are the ones asking why noone is talking about Opera. The fact they keep needing to ask is surely explanation enough.

Also, this article is surely 2 years out of date.

By: Jim

Jim — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:00:36 +0000

Now if IE would just go away my work would just be so easy.

By: charmedlover

charmedlover — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:23:16 +0000

I love how SitePoint nearly always excludes Opera…

By: cranial-bore

cranial-bore — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:10:16 +0000

At least cross browser development is easier than it used to be. For example the inconsistent box model (padding included, or extra to a box width) is not an issue on modern browsers, and JS libraries can normalize most browser differences.

If IE6 could be squeezed out, then cross browser support would be even easier.

By: bel

bel — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:35:31 +0000

I’m really, REALLY tired of spending time and effort on cross-browser, forward and backward compatibility. It eats up so much time that I could be spending on more interesting and rewarding work and play. So, I’m just sick of spending resources there. Personally, I’d very be happy if one browser took 100% market share, that would be HEAVEN for a while, and the trade-off worth it. I guess I don’t have the energy I used to when I started in this industry (its been drained by all the scripting and testing and disappointment and frustration and compromise that has gone into cross-browser, cross-version compatibility efforts over the years).
Bring on a monopoly, I need a rest.

By: mathieuf

mathieuf — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:31:57 +0000

Opera is still a small player, unfortunately. It has always been the leader in standards support, and technological innovation. (The first with tabs, and many other features.) It supports a variety of skins; is that old technology for XLCowBoy’s cousins? It was always the fastest browser, though I have not timed it recently. (For Firefox speed, don’t load up on plugins.)

Opera, keep up the great work! You have fans out here.

By: XLCowBoy

XLCowBoy — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:17:34 +0000

@Satish S and Meitar:

Funny you asked that. I asked my younger (aged 12, etc. the new generation basically) cousins what browser they used, and their reply was: Firefox if we’re on Windows, and Safari if we’re on our dad’s/mom’s mac.

I asked them if they tried Chrome or Opera, and their response?

“Yeah, but they don’t have the kind of plug-ins and custom themes that Firefox has.”

Personalization. The new consumer buzz-word. ;)

By: Meitar

Meitar — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:00:24 +0000

@Satish S: Good question! In many ways Opera has better standards support than any browser, including Firefox. I feel a bit like Opera is the quiet kid in the corner who always does their homework but won't ever be popular in school.

By: TheLunchBox

TheLunchBox — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:54:16 +0000

It’s this sort of deviation that appears to be the only way of getting any of these new features implemented into CSS at the moment.

Again, this sounds exactly like the things that were said when the IE filter property was introduced. If they want to push CSS3 forward, why not use the proposed CSS property name rather than a clearly vendor specific one. If I want to make a future proof stylesheet, I have to add 3 rules for one property.

Firefox pushed CSS2 rendering forward without relying on vendor specific stuff. I have no problem with adding new features, but for a browser that was built upon standards, it seems off to deviate.

By: Satish S

Satish S — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:28:08 +0000

Why is no one talking about Opera?

By: Tyssen

Tyssen — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:04:53 +0000

I know that many of these experimental properties are pre-cursors to CSS3 features, but any intentional deviation from web standards is discouraging.

It’s this sort of deviation that appears to be the only way of getting any of these new features implemented into CSS at the moment.

By: TheLunchBox

TheLunchBox — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 23:21:35 +0000

It’s nice to see some competition for IE. Frankly, I doubt Microsoft would’ve have put any real effort into developing a better IE without Firefox.

Unfortunately, I’ve seen some changes in Firefox and Safari that remind me of the last “browser war”. Seeing CSS properties prefixed with moz and webkit is a big red flag for me. I know that many of these experimental properties are pre-cursors to CSS3 features, but any intentional deviation from web standards is discouraging.

By: jef2904

jef2904 — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 22:59:23 +0000

I think the browser competition is great. Has said in the article Its great when competition drives them to be better. Firefox better improve faster than chrome or it will take firefox market share faster the 20% of IE’s.

By: Phil

Phil — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 22:50:27 +0000

Well, that was a great post about nothing!