I personally do not blame Microsoft for making their browser so that it does not adhere to standards, I blame the web developers. I blame them for letting themselves get sucked into the world of a corporate standard. When I do cross platform work I do not rely on Microsofts tools such as Visual J++, it only allows me to service one side of the market. If I know that UNIX, Linux or Mac users will be using my solutions I use the tools that will allow me to get the job done for everyone, that is why Im such a stickler for using Sun’s Java, its standards compliant and I can create cross platform applications and content and I don't have to worry about it. When I write my C# applications I do not tie into the Windows registry because I would like at some point to be able to port to Mono and tying into Microsofts components will not let me do that. We the developers make the solutions, we make the content Microsoft should not be able to dictate to us what we can and can't do, we need to dictate to Microsoft what standards we will use and how Microsoft should create their products to view our content and to use our solutions. We need to show companies like Microsoft and IBM that we will not be strong armed by anyone. One of the things Microsoft should do is investigate other methods than ActiveX controls. In my opinion there is no way to properly secure Internet Explorer with ActiveX enabled, my recommendation to web developers, stay away from ActiveX controls. The Viewable with any browser campaign has a design guide to help web developers from getting locked into proprietary, or as I call them, corporate standards.
Usability and Feature set
One of the most user unfriendly applications in Windows right now is Internet Explorer. While Microsoft tells us in its advisories to do this and that they often do not explain how to do it. The tools are there but they don’t make it so Jane Grandma can use them easily. When these advisories came out I had to do the work on my relatives machines, not Microsoft. Also, Microsoft seemed to blow off the suggestions for Tabbed browsing. There is a reason for these requests. Its not because we think tabbed browsing just looks awesome its because it helps us be more productive and it eats up less computer resources. As I tell my co-workers, there is a method to my madness and I do not ask people to do something to hear myself speak or to have them do more work just for the sake of having more work. The IE team really needs to start listening to the customer base and truly investigate the features customers want
Conclusion
While I do believe that Internet Explorer is a good browser, due to Microsofts future plans for it I do not feel I will use IE for anything. I do not like the way that Microsoft is integrating it and I feel I have many more problems on my hands than to have to deal with a security headache that a well implemented exploit can take out my system thanks to the browser. Im not a stubborn person though, If Microsoft does correct the problems and shows me that they are really working hard to make Internet Explorer more secure then I may reconsider. Until that time however, I do recommend Firefox as the alternate browser because it works with external mail clients unlike Mozilla that makes users have to use the Mozilla Mail application. That is a big help for corporate users who use GroupWise or other mail clients. I have heard some say that Firefox only works with 95% of the websites out there on the internet. To that I say I would rather work with 95% of the internet than to have to deal with some major security crisis in the future. With that said, the question many people will ask is if I am going to dump the Windows platform? The answer is no, it has a lot of benefits and is a good OS, very reliable and security is much better. For me personally, Internet Explorer is the only Microsoft product that is living on borrowed time.
About the Author
Roberto J Dohnert is a Unix/Linux and Windows Consultant and software developer. His first introduction to Unix based systems dates back to NeXTStep. He is a member of the GNU Darwin Distribution and has made several contributions to that and other projects. His personal webpage is here.
- "IE, Page 1/2"
- "IE, Page 2/2"
