For many people, using a non-Microsoft browser such as Firefox is now a must for secure Web surfing -- but most still keep a copy of Internet Explorer around just in case.
The problem is that many Web developers create their sites so they work best with Internet Explorer (IE), but not to work as well with browser software used by relatively tiny groups of potential visitors.
Sites subject to complaints from Firefox users include Web travel site Expedia and Microsoft's MSNBC news site. Even Shutterfly, the online photo service backed by Netscape Communications co-founder Jim Clark, warns visitors that it supports only a limited set of browsers.
The biggest reason why most people can't dump IE, however, is Microsoft itself: the software giant's Windows Update site blocks out non-IE browsers completely. That means anyone running Windows who wants to download and install the latest security updates from the Web will have to keep IE close at hand. Some consider that ironic or worse, given that authoritative groups such as Carnegie Mellon University's Computer Emergency Response Team now warn people to stay away from IE because of its myriad security problems.
While some people are downloading alternative browsers out of frustration with IE, which last had a significant upgrade three years ago, others may be swayed by grassroots Internet campaigns urging Web surfers to dump IE.
These include the Web Standards Project's Browse Happy site and the Mozilla Foundation's volunteer-based marketing site, Spread Firefox, which it launched alongside the preview release of Firefox 1.0.
Most IE alternatives support World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards, which give Web developers all the tools necessary to build fully compatible sites. Nevertheless, Microsoft has created proprietary elements within IE to support some enhanced Web page features, such as multimedia. Web developers who decide to use these features may effectively lock out surfers who use non-IE browsers.
Corporate Web developers frequently write code to work with IE rather than to Web standards, because their clients want to use Microsoft's proprietary CRM (customer relationship management) and ERP (enterprise resource planning) features. Since IE dominates the market so thoroughly, some companies simply balk at the cost of tests that would help ensure cross-browser compatibility.
The situation has some Web developers shaking their heads in disbelief.
"Sites as large as Expedia and MSNBC should be able to cater to just about everybody who wishes to use the site," said Noel Briggs, a developer at Web design company NetTensity. "If certain TVs weren't able to reliably render the MSNBC cable news channel, I am sure that the network would take the issue seriously."
Talkback
There is no excuse for developing IE specific websites - it means you using poor quality tools and quite simply don't know what you are doing.
Any web developer or designer worth their salary can write fully interactive applications using DHTML, or Java or Flash. The latter work far better than the dodgy ActiveX and COM I have seen, and require less downloads as they are widely installed - much more so than the latest version of vbscript and other pre-requisites these sites can require.
If you look at what professionals are doing you can see we are able to implement fully interactive web applications using javascript rpc mechanisms that match most of what any heavyweight Java applet can do.
Anybody writing IE specific websites is doing their job badly and ought to be replaced by somebody who can do the job. I wouldn't want a plumber or electrician who could only deal with dixons latest Electrolux boiler and nothing else. Why do people accept feeble excuses from cowboy web designers?
While some sites are still impenetrable to Firefox (namely most of Microsoft's own) most of these sites are the type that you visit rarely. The only exception being Windows Update which has to be visited every few days.
once you have got used to a different interface and layout, you then notice the functions and features missing from IE. Security issues aside most that try to perform cookie crunching and a web spying are expecting IE to be active.
I use both Mozilla and Opera if a web site insists on IE one or the other will usualy work . if 100% IE is required I dont use them and buy the item/s or get the informatioon from else where. There are suficient web sites, so its not a problem.
If you use windows update yo do need IE but you can got straight to the technet side look at the notes and chose wether to download or not. I have come acros occasions were MS update has installed out of date hot fixes on recently patched systems or applying patches for media player ir outlook express that not not exist on my systems.
my 9 yrs son perfers using Mozilla but my 4 yrs daughter Opera. the children do not have a problem swappping have developed ther own favourites and history list of sites visited.
While Google and Ask Geeves exist the site is not far away and are only limited by there spelling and ther scope of interests. The window version is
not important nor is the web browser, but with the vast array of keyboards on the market finding a keyboard with lower case letters would help the children