rotospace

I work in in the biz. No, I don't sling Irish Car Bombs across a bar while standing in an inch of beer. I'm in the biz that creates the lovely goodness that is allowing you to read these words. I'm one of those guys that likes to right click, "view source", and get excited when a website uses a <div> instead of a <table>.  If you don't know what any of that means, it's irrelevant for reading and understanding this post. If you do understand, it will give you some immediate understanding about the topic. Once you do understand, it's a sentiment you'll likely share when talking about the browser that everyone loves to hate, Internet Explorer 6 (IE6). To know IE6 is to love to hate it...and IE6 MUST DIE!

I don't ever claim to have all the answers, but I try to learn something new about my chosen profession each day. When use a computer to access the internet, the main way we interact is via the web browser. One of the first things I learned when I chose this career is to always use the latest & greatest browser. Security updates, new features and other great enhancements are packaged with a new browser, and updates keep the browser fresh, secure and fast. Fantastic advances have been made in modern browsers like Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari...and even Internet Explorer 8. Yes, that's right, IE6 is not even almost the most recent version of Internet Explorer. When comparing IE6 to any of current browser, it's like comparing a beat up Ford Pinto to a Ferrari 599XX -- there is no comparison.

Here are some reasons to join the fight and rid the internet of IE6 (from IEDeathMarch.org & BringDownIE6.com):

• (as of September 2009) Internet Explorer 6 will be SEVEN years old on August 27th, 2008 will be NINE years old this fall. It came out a few weeks before the Twin Towers fell. It came out before the Nintendo GameCube. It came out before the first iPod.
• There is a lot you can't do in IE6.
• The hacks needed to support IE6 are increasingly viewed as excess freight. Like Netscape 4 in 2000, IE6 is perceived to be holding back the web.
• Clients pressure designers to "force" sites to work in IE6, and designers, not wanting to lose business, comply, using hacks and workarounds.
• Even standards gurus are frustrated.

I still can't believe it's nearing the end of 2009 and it's necessary to write any of this, but there's still a lot of work to be done to rid the online world of IE6. Some people replace cars every 3 to 4 years -- and that costs (a lot of) money! Web browsers are free and easy-to-upgrade. Why people choose to continue using an inherently flawed piece of shi...escuse me, software is beyond my understanding.

So, if you're reading this using IE6, there are other options:
Firefox | Google Chrome | Safari | Flock | IE8 | ...and more.

Don't take my word for it:
- http://deathtoie6.com/
- http://iedeathmarch.org/
- http://bringdownie6.com/
- http://stopie6.com/
- http://desizntech.info/2009/02/die-ie6-die-go-to-hell-already/
- http://www.incerteza.org/blog/projetos/shockingly-big-ie6-warning/
- http://37signals.blogs.com/products/2008/07/basecamp-phasin.html
- http://davidwalsh.name/6-reasons-why-ie6-must-die
- [ADDED 09/26/09] IE 6 USAGE CHART
...and the list goes on.