Why IE6 is bad

There is a scourge on the Web, it is called Internet Explorer 6.

Here we are, two years after Internet Explorer 7 was released, at least a year since Internet Explorer 7 was pushed out as an automatic upgrade, and some ~30% of people are still using it. Heck, we’re all but on the cusp of IE8’s release, and some people are still stuck in the past with IE6!

This upgrade lag is simply unacceptable, especially to all of the web developers out there who are busy creating the content that feeds the monster you the internet.

So what’s the problem? Well, it is a real pain to make sure your Web apps work on five different browsers, but that’s just part of the game. Adding a sixth is a minor annoyance you say? Well actually no, it’s a huge pain! See, you can’t have IE6 installed on the same machine as a later IE version, so I’m stuck using an entirely separate machine that exists only for Internet Explorer 6 just to test minor site changes in IE6.

Not only that, but IE6 “supports” some non-standard features and functions that are not compatible with other browsers, and has a ton of CSS and even JavaScript incompatibilities, so things that should be dead simple in every other browser are a huge pain in IE6. The security vulnerabilities aren’t too much fun either.

For the manager types who need a bullet point list, okay, here it is. There are many reasons to upgrade your browser, but here are the most pertinent:

  • Security improvements and fixes.
  • Better rendering support for websites.
  • Enhanced privacy options.

If you are a web developer you already know many of the headaches associated with Internet Explorer 6, so I’d encourage you to do what you can do encourage users to upgrade.

So, upgrade to what? There are a ton of alternatives to Internet Explorer 6, with the most popular browsers, all available for free, being listed below (in order of my personal preference):

So please, upgrade!

For those unfortunate souls still running Internet Explorer 6, I’ve added a handy annoying reminder to get a better browser. I’m trying to be nice, so I made it only appear on the main page, you can still wander around the site without too much pain, but please, if you see the reminder, it’s there for your own good as well as for mine.

Dear UPS: We have a doorbell

I wrote this rant a few weeks ago, but since it happened again, I decided to post anyway, so here goes.

Dear UPS Driver,

Would it be so much to ask that you actually type my apartment number into the doorbell system at the front door?

Twice now I’ve had a UPS driver claim to drop by while I am at home sitting not more then 4′ from the phone where our condo doorbell system rings, and both times nadda all day, then I go look up the tracking number in the late afternoon and find a “customer not available” note. One of the perks of working from home is that I’m nearly always available to receive deliveries.

This time there was at least a sticker on the front door, last time there wasn’t even that.

Oddly enough both days I did have someone else call, last time I had a FedEx delivery the same day and today we ordered pizza, so I know my buzzer works for everyone but UPS.

Sincerely, The Dave.

iPhone? Copy and paste now? Please?

So it’s what, a year and a half since the initial iPhone release? And still no copy-and-paste? Seriously?

Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot to love about the iPhone, especially with some of the applications that are making appearances now, but Apple really needs to get some of the basics implemented.

Whenever I complain I always have someone popup to say that it isn’t needed because information just flows between apps. To some extent this is true, it’s one click to call a phone number from an email (assuming it’s formatted correctly, no way to add that missing zero or area code though), Google Maps adds contacts to the address book automatically, etc.

What I can’t figure out is how exactly to flow three 16 digit numbers from an email to a courier’s tracking page to find out when my Christmas gift will be here.

Apple fanbois, enlighten me!