"It seems unfortunate if we do this work and get our partners to do the work and the result is that Linux works great without having to do the work" said Bill Gates in 1999 (pdf). While we don't know if he actually managed to do just that (creating problems to other OSes to work well with ACPI), but if he did, it is a good explanation why ACPI has been flaky on the majority of x86 computers with anything else other than Windows (the older, APM standard, seemed more compatible with alternative OSes).
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Member since:2005-11-11
If it were superior, people would use it over IE - especially given the obvious security problems alone.
Except for that little thing called lockin. Surely you've run across those sites that only work with IE? It's not because IE is superior, it's because MS created a non standards-compliant browser and shipped it with the OS most people use. That allowed web developers to be lazy, only certifying their site to work on IE, and in many cases using the IE only extensions. Lockin is what let the IE team cruise (to the point of not existing for a while), not any superiority of the browser.
Attempting to conflate popularity with quality is something that won't get you anywhere. Opera is an amazing browser, and does what it can against a product that comes with folks' OS and which has become (esp with 7) good enough.
Member since:2005-08-18
"Surely you've run across those sites that only work with IE?"
You know, I haven't actually ran across such a site in a *long* time. I used a while back but not in recent times.
Are web designers getting their shit together or is it Firefox/Konqueror that works around these IE quirks? I dunno, but I sure don't run in to them as much as I used to, if at all.
Edited 2007-04-13 12:20
Member since:2007-02-22
Except for that little thing called lockin. It's not because IE is superior, it's because MS created a non standards-compliant browser and shipped it with the OS most people use.
Erm... those are strawman arguments. Lockin doesn't exist when you can freely use other browsers (if you haven't noticed, you are even asked if you want to install some of these other browsers during a normal installation of IE7), and many of the 'standards' that are being created today are anything but standard.
Member since:2005-11-13
Member since:2005-12-15
Member since:2007-04-13
Member since:2005-07-07
Member since:2006-10-12
So IE6's complete ignorance to the published agreed standards didn't make it inferior? The fact that IE7 still isn't on the ball doesn't make it inferior?
Inferior and popular are two very different things.
As a professional web developer, I'm long since past being surprised at people not knowing about the existence of anything besides IE—hell, most of them don't even know that it's IE, it's just ‘the Internet’. On that basis, it should be no surprise that IE's market share is so high: the only, quite frankly stunning, feat is that IE's market share is as low as it is when compared to Windows'.
Member since:2007-01-18
Some people prefer IE over other browsers. I can tell you I've had a few tech savvy people who just didn't like Firefox or Opera.
I didn't use to like Opera and chose Firefox instead, but as of a few days ago I now using Opera instead of Firefox. I still keep Firefox around though, as some things don't display correctly in Opera.
As for IE7. My feelings are that Microsoft will make IE7+ as standard compliant as Firefox or other browsers. The reason is that many more sites are following the W3C's recommendation and those sites aren't working in IE. At some point even the dumbest user isn't going to keep blaming the websites especially when their smarter friends show them how well the site works in other browsers.
If IE becomes as standard compliant someday as the other browsers then I don't really feel that IE will lose much more ground to Firefox or the other browsers. The simple reason is that the majority of computer users don't really care what it is they are using as long as it works reasonably well.
Member since:2007-02-22
The main reasons more people don't use Opera are they've never heard of it, or they have and are happy with their current browser (usually Firefox or Safari, but not so much Internet Explorer--IE users are usually computer illiterate and are the ones that have never heard of Opera). It has nothing to do with superiority.
If it were superior, people would use it over IE - especially given the obvious security problems alone.
Opera is objectively superior to Internet Explorer in nearly every aspect, from rendering engine (Opera 9.x passes ACID2; IE 7 doesn't even come close) to security (Opera has fewer issues on Securnia than Firefox and IE) to customizability (The toolbars are more customizable, and Opera has skins). The only thing where Internet Explorer takes the cake without a doubt is site compatibility, and that is not Opera's fault per se; Opera better adheres to web standards, but IE is so ubiquitous that some web designers make sites for IE and its quirks and shortcomings.
Member since:
2005-12-15
Calling IE inferior is a pretty bold statement. If it's your personal opinion, that's fine but otherwise, then it really doesn't hold any weight.
Have a look at the statistics and you'll see that Opera goes as low as 0.2% usage. Month in, month out, Opera isn't relevant.
http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp
Firefox on the other hand is steadily growing (and deservedly so). Opera remains around 1.5% for at least the last year. Less even further back.
This site shows a similar snapshot of Opera popularity:
http://www.upsdell.com/BrowserNews/stat.htm
If it were superior, people would use it over IE - especially given the obvious security problems alone.
Edited 2007-04-13 11:48