No versions of IE render javascript or CSS properly, and as for ActiveX - it’s an insecure abomination.

Thanks for the story.

Q: Does IE really have that much `holes’ in it?
A: “Heck no! Firefox, Opera, `ol Netscape and the rest of those so called browser have more holes in them like a circuit board than IE. They even have so much `tender’ spots, so ripe for the taking.”

Q: Why IE then?
A: “It’s the world! Why waste on a few odds & ends on a small following, when you can have the world…
if any of those `other’ browsers were on top of the world, then that would be our prey of choice. Heck! it would’ve been far easier poking those tempting `tender’ spots. Not so for IE, going up against a giant like MS. They’re covering those holes faster now than we could plan our next `peeking’! As for the rest of the `newbies’, they’ve only `vaccinated’ after IE got the brunt. What matters is, anticipating an attack, not covering up only after the the big fella’s down with a flu. & yes, the rest of the flock only expanded on what MS has gone thru… after the storm. So you see, why go for easy prey when it’s the big game we want. Try browsers built like a tank for OS/2 and other heavyweights. Yup IE is hanging on & almost at par. As for the rest, we haven’t trained our sights on them… yet. M$ hasn’t been boring… X->”

“And yes, I personally use MS IE myself ever since i realized what the internet was. I just love it. Like what that other fella said, it really does integrate beautifully with all sorts of web & media stuff. seamlessly when the rest still just mess up things.
Hat’s off to those who bravely & boldly explore the web on IE!”

AeroMax: Thanks!
Mr. xxx…boy: Welcome. Oh, and watch your six, when surfing…

Not only do most people not know about the alternatives, i doubt if any of them care.

Most people I talk to don’t know what you mean when you talk about a browser and many still type a URL into google rather than just into the address bar.

And why should they care? They just want to get online, get some news, book a hotel, bouy a book etc.

The developer community is large, but tiny in comparison to the actual web user base. Firebug and similar extension are great for developers, but their user base is miniscule in comparison to the web using population.

I think IE has held it’s dominance in the western world simply because it is the default option for most people. As different OSs take hold throughout the rest of the world this will change.

I use IE7/FF/Opera at work
Camino at Home

Most likely, you’re right.

Robert Wellock,

Sounds kind of counter-productive…

-”I really like the new internet!”.
I responded:
-”What do you mean? Internet hasn’t changed as far as I know.” (a bit sarcastic).
- “Yes it has, I downloaded it with my windows update”.

Clearly he didn’t know that IE is just a program, not ‘the internet’. I’m sure he isn’t the only one out there…

I am skeptical of the claim however. I find it hard to believe that firefox/mozilla extensions have a dominant market position when the browser itself is just breaking 30% penetration according to http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp

I don’t necessarily mean that the technology is better, but rather that the massive amount of extensions and extension developers has put it into a leading position in the market.

I’m a developer in PHP, Perl, Delphi, and some other languages, and I prefer Firefox for day to day browsing, but ActiveX is absolutely the most powerful browser technology there is.

Anything you can write as an normal windows program, can be wrapped in an ActiveX container and turned into a ‘pluggable’ control within IE.

Neither Mozilla nor Opera have anything that even comes near this level of functionality.

I agree, familiarity is definitely the key, and most people are really refrained when it comes to change.

Aaron,

He he.
Well, if he prefers IE 7 and is super in all other areas, by all means. But I guess he wasn’t…

Johan,

At least to me, Opera has never been, and will probably never be, an interesting choice to me.

eugene,

Thanks for the tip!

adam,

I’ve never tried it myself, but I played around with Avant Browser a long time ago.

wioota,

Yes, it’s a little secret.

Chris,

Apart from loving Firefox I don’t think that’s a bad idea hiding the menu - I can’t remember using it.

For more computer-savy people, that’’s just fine. But I think most IE users just wonder where it has gone.

Jason,

Interesting, I’ve never thought about it from the support point of view, just how much has changed in that perspective.

There are other things but that are the most useful. However none of my colleagues actually uses them.
Apart from loving Firefox I don’t think that’s a bad idea hiding the menu - I can’t remember using it.

Another point using IE is corporate environment. For Germany I can say that often only IE is allowed for security reasons. I know it sounds like a joke but it isn’t…

Has anyone else used it?

Maybe this will help too: http://www.ie7pro.com