Microsoft yielding to IE standards pressure?

After a years-long drumbeat of developer complaints, Microsoft may finally be budging on its support for standards and on key missing features in its Internet Explorer browser.

Microsoft last month broke with a longstanding pledge and said it would release a new version of IE before its next major Windows upgrade. Security concerns catalyzed the shift in plans, and Microsoft has kept mum about any possible standards or feature upgrades that might accompany the security improvements.

But a source familiar with Microsoft's plans confirmed a Tuesday report on MicrosoftWatch that IE developers, who have code-named their project Rincon, are at work on non-security features and standards support, including tabbed browsing, support for IDN (Internationalized Domain Names), improved support for CSS 2 (Cascading Style Sheets) and PNG (Portable Network Graphics) transparencies.

MicrosoftWatch also reported that IE 7 will include a built-in news aggregator based on RSS, or Really Simple Syndication.

While Microsoft declined to answer any questions about IE 7, the company has repeatedly brought up the issue of IE 7 standards support on its developer-oriented blogs to solicit suggestions on what changes developers would like to see in the upcoming release of the browser. Without making any promises, leaders in the IE development team suggest that after years of inaction on World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards problems, Microsoft will finally clean up its act.

"Specific requests and descriptions of problems in the field help us tremendously in prioritizing what we need to do," Chris Wilson, Microsoft's lead program manager for the Web platform in IE, wrote in a March 9 blog titled "IE and Standards." "Microsoft does respond to customer demand; Web developers are our customers."

If the tenor of the comments posted in response to Wilson's blog item is any indication, Microsoft has a lot of angry customers.

"IE6 has stagnated since its release," wrote one of Wilson's more civil respondents. "More annoying than this stagnation has been the silence from Redmond regarding future releases and the support of standards. Aging documentation, no support forum, undocumented features--IE 6 has been a nightmare."

Developers' concerns about standards and feature support in the current version of IE are reflected in the browser team's current to-do list. Frequent complaints include IE's lack of tabbed browsing, which lets users keep multiple pages open within the same window; full support for CSS 2, a W3C recommendation that lets Web authors apply single style guides to multiple pages; and support for PNG transparencies, which provide a nonproprietary, unpatented way to create transparent images.

The Mozilla Foundation--whose highly successful Firefox browser many credit with lighting a fire under Microsoft's IE development work--hailed news of Microsoft's renewed attention to standards and features, but dismissed the idea that a souped-up IE could steal Firefox's fire.

"Let's remember that the reason for IE 7 is security," said Chris Hofmann, Mozilla's director of engineering. "That's what's driving people away from IE and focusing them on other browser solutions like Firefox. There's some tough work for Microsoft to do because content developers have come to rely on features that are insecure."

Hofmann specifically cited Microsoft's proprietary ActiveX API (application programming interface) for running Web-based programs on client computers; Microsoft's implementation of the DOM (Document Object Model), which lets scripts act on discrete elements of a Web page; and IE's security zone model.

"It's not about the features," Hofmann said. "But if they're going to do this major upgrade, they're not going to leave the feature set three years behind the other browsers."

[System Tyrant]

Standards

Well, I am happy to see that Microsoft might finally support standards better. However, I hope they focus more on security at this time.

Speaking of browsers, I really like the new one from Netscape. The biggest problem I see facing the Alternitive Browsers is lack of support. Firefox is already feeling the pain and Netscape appears to be just running with the crowd. I use Firefox, but like all things if it starts lagging behind I will move on (probably not to IE though).

Let the browser wars begin. Again.

[Bill Dautrive]

No promise

They didn't promise so don't expect it to ever happen. Even if they can get close and add a few features, that will be something.

They will not slow down firefox unless it is reasonably secure. They have yet to come close to reasonably secure, so whatever they throw into IE7 will be worthless without security.

[feranick]

Support

If firefox support is that, does it mean that MS support for IE is good? Of course not. Ask those poor people using IE6 under Win2K. Firefox support may not be great, but at least it exists.

[CyberWoLfman]

Example of what they're talking about

CSS 2 lets you add things like menus to Web pages without having to use other scripting like JavaScript, which many people turn off anyway to stop popup ads. And yes, I'm probably now in trouble with advertisers for telling you how to do that and in trouble with all those popup ad blocker program companies. But, I believe in helping people, and I've had businesses threaten me before. *Shrugs* I'm still here.

To see a working example of what they're talking about in the way of CSS 2, please see this page: www.cyberwolfman.com/css_web_browsers_history.htm

It also has pictures of the working features for those who can't compare it in both IE and CSS 2 compliant Web browsers like Firefox.

Oh, btw, it's not really a commercial site; I just got tired of forcing my Web site visitors to put up with banner and popup ads.

- CyberWoLfman

Microsoft Listens? Listens to who?

I like this "Microsoft does respond to customer demand; Web developers are our customers."

If Microsoft listens and responds to customer demand then how come...

1. The were only going to upgrade IE with Windows? This isn't what we wanted.

2. Why do they insist on making the browser an integral part of Windows? This isn't what we wanted.

3. Why do they insist on ActiveX when they know it is a security blackhole. This isn't what we wanted.

4. Why don't they support web standards and support them correctly? Why not full support for CSS 2, DOM and PNG? Poor support and "the Microsoft way" on these things isn't what we wanted.

5. Why doesn't IE have the features that we want that just about every other browser out there has? This isn't what we wanted.

I don't see how they can claim "Microsoft does respond to customer demand; Web developers are our customers." When developers and customers alike have been screaming for these things to be corrected for years.

Someone needs to pull their head out and take a breath.

Robert

[qazwiz]

Why NOW?

What with the previous 'wait until longhorn' and their usual lack of concern for what the customer wants I ask "Why now?" I only need to look to my Desktop to det the answer

I'm not too sure about style sheets but all the other things mentioned(tabbed browser and RSS feeds) are in DEEPNET EXPLORER. A free browser that even knows what your IE6 preferences were and sets them as the defauld when you download this gem.

I heard about it here in CNet so search the name and get the goods for FREE