IE gaps that need to be plugged

While Microsoft is attempting to make standalone browsers a thing of the past, Web developers and surfers alike are trying to push the company to bring Internet Explorer up to the present.

With no major upgrade in three years, apart from last month's XP Service Pack 2 security release, IE is showing its age. Despite this, Microsoft's browser software remains the industry standard, with 95 percent of the market, even though small competitors like the Mozilla Foundation's Firefox, Apple Computer's Safari and Opera Software's browser have apparently made inroads.

Microsoft has steadfastly refused to issue another standalone browser and has reserved the recent security upgrade to IE for people with the Windows XP operating system--about half the 390 million users of Windows worldwide, according to research firm IDC.

But if Microsoft could be persuaded to update IE, what features would Web developers and surfers like to see?

Perhaps first on Web surfers' list is tabbed browsing. This feature, offered since the earliest versions of Opera in 1996 and subsequently by Mozilla-based browsers and Safari, lets the user open multiple Web pages within the same browser window. Fans of tabbed browsing say it reduces clutter and helps organize pages gleaned from search results.

Microsoft acknowledges the appeal of tabbed browsing.

"Once you start doing tabs, you never go back to a browser without tabs," said Gary Schare, director of security product management for Windows. "But like anything else, it's a matter of resourcing and prioritizing what we work on."

Schare recommended third-party browsers based on IE that provide tabbed browsing, such as NetCaptor and Maxthon.

Another feature high on many Web surfers' wish list is live bookmarks, such as those available in Firefox, which display dynamically updated content from RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds along with the browser's bookmarks (or, in IE parlance, "Favorites").

If you want to get Web developers riled up, ask them about IE's support for CSS (cascading style sheets) and the PNG image format.

With CSS, bugs have lingered for years. Developers call IE's rendering of certain PNG images "ugly."

"It has been *seven years* since 'native PNG' support was announced for IE 4.0," wrote a respondent to a hotly discussed Microsoft Web log on the subject. "While I am pleased that development on IE will continue, and I'm hopeful that the issues I have with it will be addressed, I'm not holding my breath. Microsoft has squandered much of the public support and trust it once had, and it will take a lot more than vaporous quasi-announcements to win that back. The vague pronouncements released so far have been meaningless, except in a touchy-feely PR sort of way. There has been zero commitment, after making us wait many years," the respondent wrote.

Microsoft acknowledges the hue and cry over standards support but insists that it's acting prudently in holding back full CSS and PNG support.

"There are certainly aspects of IE rendering that developers would love to see some changes to," Schare said. "The challenge is that changing the way IE works along those lines has huge ramifications for backwards compatibility for Web sites that people have been building for years and years."

While developers call on Microsoft to give IE a general makeover, and Microsoft insists that its browser feature development efforts are strictly reserved for Longhorn, some people are posting wish lists of their own, including some on Microsoft's own Channel 9 blog site.

[Steven N]

Weird

A company like M$, with countless developers, pockets deeper than any sea, and they cannot put tabbed browsing in, and claim resources on top of that?

Also, no CSS and PNG support to keep backwards compatibility. Huh? Why can the others do that then?

Oohh, I remembered, IE optimized websites are not following standards.

M$ is turning into a dinosaur.
Now, where's that comet?

[Steven N]

Weird

A company like M$, with countless developers, pockets deeper than any sea, and they cannot put tabbed browsing in, and claim resources on top of that?

Also, no CSS and PNG support to keep backwards compatibility. Huh? Why can the others do that then?

Oohh, I remembered, IE optimized websites are not following standards.

M$ is turning into a dinosaur.
Now, where's that comet?

[tharcod]

Why IE isn't updated often...

With Windows 95, IE was originally shipped as a separate disk (95 upgrade before A B C was added to the end). Later, Microsoft integrated it into the install of Windows.

Before Microsoft integrated it into the Windows default install, Netscape was able to retain its market share. Users had a choice between Netscape, which tended to be conservative and to follow standards, and Microsoft which tended to have huge security issues and implement proprietary extensions without regard to the standards process.

IE is not updated because Microsoft has no reason to upgrade it except as an OS release. There is nothing for a typical end user in Longhorn; a typical end user doesn't have a reason to upgrade. By tieing IE, Outlook Express, etc. to the OS and not upgrading them unless you upgrade the OS, Microsoft gets a sale. It's that simple.

[tharcod]

Why IE isn't updated often...

With Windows 95, IE was originally shipped as a separate disk (95 upgrade before A B C was added to the end). Later, Microsoft integrated it into the install of Windows.

Before Microsoft integrated it into the Windows default install, Netscape was able to retain its market share. Users had a choice between Netscape, which tended to be conservative and to follow standards, and Microsoft which tended to have huge security issues and implement proprietary extensions without regard to the standards process.

IE is not updated because Microsoft has no reason to upgrade it except as an OS release. There is nothing for a typical end user in Longhorn; a typical end user doesn't have a reason to upgrade. By tieing IE, Outlook Express, etc. to the OS and not upgrading them unless you upgrade the OS, Microsoft gets a sale. It's that simple.

All IT should be Web Based!!

The Wars in IT are not good for us Customers.
All IT should be WEB Based. There should be no difference between Browsers Operating Systems Etc..
Serious IT Managers should Demand this.

All IT should be Web Based!!

The Wars in IT are not good for us Customers.
All IT should be WEB Based. There should be no difference between Browsers Operating Systems Etc..
Serious IT Managers should Demand this.

[TaeBo-]

Mozilla firefox is the future

Forget IE forever, get Mozilla Firefox. It's an incredible browser. If you have the new netscape you are using mozilla already. If you haven't checked it out yet, you owe it to yourself. www.getfirefox.com

[TaeBo-]

Mozilla firefox is the future

Forget IE forever, get Mozilla Firefox. It's an incredible browser. If you have the new netscape you are using mozilla already. If you haven't checked it out yet, you owe it to yourself. www.getfirefox.com

[edgedesign]

Browse Happy!

Find out why Internet Explorer is unsafe and explore your
browsing options here:

http://browsehappy.com/browsers/

Use browsers that adhere to web standards and avoid sites that
only support IE!

[edgedesign]

Browse Happy!

Find out why Internet Explorer is unsafe and explore your
browsing options here:

http://browsehappy.com/browsers/

Use browsers that adhere to web standards and avoid sites that
only support IE!

[fdv]

Go a step further and remove IE

http://www.vorck.com/remove-ie.html
http://nuhi.msfn.org

[fdv]

Go a step further and remove IE

http://www.vorck.com/remove-ie.html
http://nuhi.msfn.org

Fear for web standards

The problem with Microsoft is that they'll never fully use standards as they want to develop their own code and eliminate the competition. Standards make sense, especially with new technologies coming out all the time but it's all domination and profit with MS. Designers will be forced to abandon css/xml and code for Microsofts incompatibe web. And as long as other companies survive in the web market, we'll always have incompatabilities. The web should not be cominated by any one company.

Fear for web standards

The problem with Microsoft is that they'll never fully use standards as they want to develop their own code and eliminate the competition. Standards make sense, especially with new technologies coming out all the time but it's all domination and profit with MS. Designers will be forced to abandon css/xml and code for Microsofts incompatibe web. And as long as other companies survive in the web market, we'll always have incompatabilities. The web should not be cominated by any one company.