Playing With Sharp Objects

Why I’ll Never Use IE8

Recently Microsoft began urging IE6 and IE7 users to update to IE8, even to the point of posting a notification through Automatic Updates as High Priority.  While Windows 7 may be seen as Microsoft’s saving grace, IE8 is still the ripe spot on the fruit that no one really wants to eat.  Anyone buying Windows 7 will be forced to use it, and if past browser usage patterns are any hint, IE8 will supplant previous Microsoft browsers within 18 months of its release.  Luckily, this update will be opt-in at this time.  However, with its inclusion in their operating systems, it is essentially a forced upgrade over time.  While Microsoft may force IE8 upon me in the future, I will never use it for my web browsing needs.

The history of Microsoft’s browsers is pretty muddied, with each being touted as more secure than the last.  In reality, IE8 is easily hacked and only offers more vulnerabilities to the web community.  While it is true that Microsoft’s browser problems come from being such a big corporate target, pouring millions into IE development has not changed their situation for the better.  It has, in fact, only resulted in reduced browser popularity due to lack of public trust in the product.

The introduction of Google’s Chrome browser along with Apple’s release of webkit based Safari kicked off a browser speed war.  All this will be getting a run for its money with Firefox 3.5’s upcoming new rendering engine.  There are plenty of alternate browsers available, so it is imperative that developers stop taking the lazy way out by coding to platform dependent architectures like ActiveX.  In order to serve a wider audience, web based services need to support all the choices.  Microsoft’s rumored Gazelle browser is a step in the right direction, but it’s a song we’ve heard from them before.  In the meantime, there are a lot of little browsers eating away at Microsoft’s share.  I made my choice to use Firefox a long time ago because of its flexibility.  What’s your choice?