Comments on: Browser Wars 2.0 http://shallowthoughts.org/2007/12/14/browser-wars-20/ because deep thoughts smack of effort Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:00:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Dana Kashubeck http://shallowthoughts.org/2007/12/14/browser-wars-20/#comment-12 Dana Kashubeck Sat, 15 Dec 2007 21:57:30 +0000 http://shallowthoughts.org/2007/12/14/browser-wars-20/#comment-12 I know that most of the users that I work with are exactly like your husband: they don't like change. Not even if it is for the better. You can explain web standards support to them until you are blue in the face, but if it looks different, they don't want it. So far on my company's site, IE7 adoption has gone quite slowly. Last month, only 26.8% of visitors were using IE 7, as opposed to 65.4% using IE 6. I believe that many of our customers only upgraded because their IT department mandated it . . . it wasn't a voluntary thing. My family is the same way. I've tried to get them to use Firefox for ages, especially when they complain that a site doesn't work for some reason. But they all -- each and every one -- refuse. They all insist that such-and-such a site requires Internet Explorer. For the most part, I know that this isn't true, but it is an emotional argument for them. They want their nice comfy, albeit flawed, browser. So what's the answer? The web development community yelled and kicked and screamed for better standards support, and we got a much improved browser. But what good is it if the people we are all developing for (M$ included) don't want to switch to it? Basically, I think, we sit and wait. Eventually, IE 6 will no longer be supported. This is going to take forever, but until users are forced to switch, I don't think they are going to. I have to agree, Bridget, that Opera's move is not very likely to bear fruit. I think Opera would be wiser to focus their efforts on marketing their product and getting their browser in front of people on their own. Microsoft can't even get people to switch to a newer version of their own browser. I doubt they are going to be able to do anything to get people to try someone else's, even if they wanted to. I know that most of the users that I work with are exactly like your husband: they don’t like change. Not even if it is for the better.

You can explain web standards support to them until you are blue in the face, but if it looks different, they don’t want it.

So far on my company’s site, IE7 adoption has gone quite slowly. Last month, only 26.8% of visitors were using IE 7, as opposed to 65.4% using IE 6. I believe that many of our customers only upgraded because their IT department mandated it . . . it wasn’t a voluntary thing.

My family is the same way. I’ve tried to get them to use Firefox for ages, especially when they complain that a site doesn’t work for some reason. But they all — each and every one — refuse. They all insist that such-and-such a site requires Internet Explorer. For the most part, I know that this isn’t true, but it is an emotional argument for them. They want their nice comfy, albeit flawed, browser.

So what’s the answer? The web development community yelled and kicked and screamed for better standards support, and we got a much improved browser. But what good is it if the people we are all developing for (M$ included) don’t want to switch to it?

Basically, I think, we sit and wait. Eventually, IE 6 will no longer be supported. This is going to take forever, but until users are forced to switch, I don’t think they are going to.

I have to agree, Bridget, that Opera’s move is not very likely to bear fruit. I think Opera would be wiser to focus their efforts on marketing their product and getting their browser in front of people on their own. Microsoft can’t even get people to switch to a newer version of their own browser. I doubt they are going to be able to do anything to get people to try someone else’s, even if they wanted to.

]]> By: Brendan Cullen http://shallowthoughts.org/2007/12/14/browser-wars-20/#comment-10 Brendan Cullen Fri, 14 Dec 2007 14:16:53 +0000 http://shallowthoughts.org/2007/12/14/browser-wars-20/#comment-10 Nail, on the head – if you were wondering what it is you just hit and where. Even if you get Joe User to try out a modern browser, the minute he comes across a site that "isn't supported by your browser", he thinks it's the new browser that sucks, not the 6 year old browser and 15 year old clunky web design. People are still coming out of "Web Design" programs thinking Dreamweaver (or even Frontpage!) WYSIWYG is all there is to making web sites. If these new "web professionals" aren't even aware of The Right Way, what hope is there for convincing people who look at their computer as nothing more than an internet machine? Nail, on the head – if you were wondering what it is you just hit and where.

Even if you get Joe User to try out a modern browser, the minute he comes across a site that “isn’t supported by your browser”, he thinks it’s the new browser that sucks, not the 6 year old browser and 15 year old clunky web design.

People are still coming out of “Web Design” programs thinking Dreamweaver (or even Frontpage!) WYSIWYG is all there is to making web sites.

If these new “web professionals” aren’t even aware of The Right Way, what hope is there for convincing people who look at their computer as nothing more than an internet machine?

]]> By: beth http://shallowthoughts.org/2007/12/14/browser-wars-20/#comment-9 beth Fri, 14 Dec 2007 13:46:22 +0000 http://shallowthoughts.org/2007/12/14/browser-wars-20/#comment-9 Woah this is a pretty serious move for Opera! I wonder if they'll get crushed. People are stuck in their ways, they don't want to change browsers because they think it will force them to relearn "using the internet." Woah this is a pretty serious move for Opera! I wonder if they’ll get crushed. People are stuck in their ways, they don’t want to change browsers because they think it will force them to relearn “using the internet.”

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