Microsoft is advocating users abandoning Internet Explorer 6, even launching a Website that details how the aging browser is slow and unsecure.
Microsoft wants Internet Explorer 6 to die in the worst possible way, even
launching a new Website that encourages users to migrate from the increasingly
antiquated browser.
That Website,
"The Internet
Explorer 6 Countdown," uses data from analytics firm Net Applications
to break down IE6 usage around the world. Despite its tiny market share in
countries like the United States
(2.9 percent) and Canada
(3.3 percent), the browser holds a substantial portion of the market in much of
Asia, including China
(34.5 percent), South Korea
(24.8 percent) and Japan
(10.3 percent).
"The Web has changed significantly over the past 10 years," reads
a note on the Website. "The browser has evolved to adapt to new Web
technologies, and the latest versions of Internet Explorer help protect you
from new attacks and threats." In other words, IE6 is too slow and
vulnerable, on top of lacking the nifty features of more modern browsers.
In its desperation to kill IE6, Microsoft is encouraging users to spread the
word about upgrading to a new browser. "Friends don't let friends use
Internet Explorer 6," reads another missive on the Website. "And
neither should acquaintances."
Yet another page offers Website
owners code for displaying a "You are using an outdated browser"
banner to visitors using IE6.
Despite Microsoft's push, however, a number of users rely on IE6 as part of
Windows XP, another legacy platform the company desperately wants the world to
abandon in favor of Windows 7. Some enterprises and small to midsize businesses
(SMBs) also depend on IE6 for older proprietary applications. That ensures a
certain part of the market stays with the browser,
despite
the broader Web's determination to move on.
For those businesses still using IE6, Microsoft offers "migration workshops"
designed to help them transition to a more modern browser. "Everything
from how to tackle app compat issues to solutions for virtualizing IE 6 is
available on the
Internet
Explorer TechCenter," Roger Capriotti, director of Internet Explorer
product marketing, wrote in a December 2010 posting on
The
Windows Blog.
Microsoft recently made available the Release Candidate for IE9. Available
at
www.BeautyOfTheWeb.com in 40
languages, the RC incorporates more than 17,000 pieces of feedback, with an eye
toward building on the IE9 beta's previous advances in performance and
standards, user experience, and privacy and safety. Some 25 million beta
testers played around with the beta.
Despite having dominated the browser market for years, Microsoft faces
substantial competition from the likes of Mozilla's Firefox franchise and
Google Chrome.
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