DIE IE - Down with Internet Explorer

What do IE aka Internet Explorer and the word DIE have in common? Well, you don't have to look that close to figure out that IE comes at the end of DIE. What can we deduce from this? It's quite simple really, IE should DIE. And, what do IE5, IE6 and IE7 all have in common? They all suck and of course, they should all DIE.

Which version of Internet Explorer is the worst? In my opinion, IE6, or Internet Explorer Sux as I like to call it. Technically IE5 and lower versions are worse than IE6. But, the fact that so many people are still using IE6 makes it the worst browser.

I don't think I am exaggerating when I say that Internet Explorer is a menace to society. Microsoft is doing a disservice to humanity by providing their crappy browser with its lack of proper support for web standards and buggy display issues as the browser that comes bundled with Windows.

According to NetMarketShare, the Operating System Market Share for all Windows Versions was 91.46% as of January, 2008. Downright dismal! Fortunately internet users are catching on and using browsers other than Internet Explorer. Browser Market Share for Internet Explorer was 75.47% as of January, 2008. Still, that is 75.47% too many IE users.

Internet Explorer is a Menace to Society

1. Internet Explorer does not support web standards properly and is buggy. Here are just two among many sites that list bugs related to Internet Explorer: IE7 Bugs | Explorer Exposed!
2. Because of all the bugs in Internet Explorer, web designers have to waste a lot of time jerry-rigging their websites and creating hacks so that Internet Explorer will display the site properly.
3. Businesses waste heaps of money paying web designers to spend extra time hacking their websites so that they work in Internet Explorer.
4. All of the code that has to be added to support Internet Explorer is pure bloat, which causes increased file size and bandwidth in downloading these sites. This creates a higher load on servers and consumes more energy. In a way, Internet Explorer is contributing to environmental pollution.
5. Internet Explorer is notorious for having poor security. All of the ways that Internet Explorer can be exploited cost computer users time and money when they have to take their system to a tech support professional to clean out the viruses, trojans and spyware. The following two links have lengthy lists of security vulnerabilities for Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 7. You will notice there are vulnerabilities listed that still have not been patched.
6. Microsoft has little interest in making Internet Explorer better because they have such a huge browser market share.

Dealing with Internet Explorer

As a web designer, I have stopped supporting Internet Explorer 6. Not only for my own websites, but also on websites I build for clients. The general rule of thumb is: if the site appears fine in IE7 but doesn't work in IE6, I put in a conditional statement that will appear to users of Internet Explorer version 6 and below. This warns users about Internet Explorer and encourages them to upgrade to a better browser. Perhaps you have visited Themebot with Internet Explorer 6. If so, this is what you saw at the top of the site:

The web browser you are using is ancient and extinct... like the dinosaurs. Internet Explorer Sux (6) is every web designers' worst enemy, not to mention being unsecure and prone to collecting adware and trojans. It is also not supported by Microsoft anymore. Please upgrade to:

* Firefox <--Recommended
* Opera
or any other modern browser. It is quick, easy to do and this message will disappear after you have upgraded. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. To read more about why it is a good idea to stop using Internet Explorer altogether Click Here and then scroll down to read the article. Happy browsing! :)

This message is only visible to IE6 users and below. I've been thinking that it might be good to include such messages in every site I build, even if it works fine with Internet Explorer. Switching to a browser other than Internet Explorer is in the best interest of all - the internet user, the web designer, the business owner, the environmentalist. Imagine if every single webmaster put a conditional statement like the one above on their website. We'd see Internet Explorer's market share drop far and fast.

Better Internet Browsers

All of the browsers below provide better if not full support for current web standards, have a number of great addons to extend functionality, and are free to download.

1. Firefox
2. Opera

There are other excellent browsers out there, but these are the big three behind IE. Of these three, only Firefox is open source. Firefox is the second most popular browser after Internet Explorer and sports a massive selection of cool add-ons and themes.

If you are fed up with Microsoft and feeling adventurous, why not check out Linux? I use my computer 10 to 16 hours a day nearly every day for work. I've been running Ubuntu Gutsy for the past 4 months and I am honestly more productive than when I was running Windows XP. I feel that Ubuntu Gutsy 7.10 is ready for prime-time. I recently upgraded both of my laptops to Ubuntu Gutsy 64-bit and it is a joy to use. Ubuntu isn't the only flavor of Linux to choose from. Here are some recommended distros: Ubuntu | OpenSUSE | PCLinuxOS | Mint | Fedora | Arch. Most Linux distributions can be downloaded as a Live CD, so you can burn the installation to the CD and try it out before installing to your hard drive. The Live CD will run slowly, because the whole operating system is being loaded from the CD. However, this will give you a good idea just how out of the box compatible a distro is with your computer hardware. Linux is completely free and will always be free for future upgrades.

"Linux - Free your computer and your mouse will follow."

Help yourself to the images below and post them wherever you like to show your lack of support for Internet Explorer. You can right click the images to download them. If you have any other images to share, please post them to the forums.

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