Feb 10 2010
The other day I got frustrated by Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) yet again. I wasn't testing for it or anything - I just got frustrated by the fact that corporations are probably the most guilty when it comes to using such an old, insecure, poor excuse for a browser. So I posted a tweet wondering why these behemoth companies insist on not upgrading to IE7 or IE8 and blocking their (more informed) employees from upgrading on their own. My tweet sparked some interest in fellow developers, including one of our clients who works in an IT department. Based on the various conversations (as much as you call Twitter a conversation), here are the primary reasons my peers came up with:
- Because most IT people don't understand what they're doing when it comes to the web.
- Sometimes IT departments are just slow to change.
- IT departments are forced into IE6 because of "business-critical" applications that depend on it.
Now, I really believe there's some truth to each of these core reasons.
Lack of knowledge
While I don't necessarily agree that "most" IT people don't understand what they're doing when it comes to the web, I used to work with couple that certainly didn't. Smart guys in lots of other ways that I couldn't comprehend, but not so great at web development. And because the web is still seen by so many as one of those new-fangled, complex, computer things that only nerds understand, IT guys (and gals), in conjunction with upper management, usually dictate web usage and definitely in security. Understandable but not always the only people to be listening to.
Slow to adapt
This reason seems, to me, to be the most common. IT departments work on a variety of projects that don't always include the web. Think data security for one and large complex networks for another. And the bigger the company the slower it tends to adapt to just about anything. Government agencies have perhaps more complicated bureaucracy than behemoths like Freightliner or Ford making them even slower. Personally - and I'm sure many web developers will agree - that's a lame excuse for sticking with an outdated and potentially insecure browser.
IE6-dependent software
A developer much smarter than me and with years more experience than me in both web development and IT came up with this reason. It took me aback and quite frankly, I find it hard to believe. Not that I don't believe him. I just find it hard to believe that in the age of iPods, iPads, agile development, Ruby on Rails and other new-fangled "stuff", there is software that actually relies on IE6. The idea is asinine! (At least that's the best adjective I can come up with.)
After a few days of pondering it though, I believe this is a pretty big reason why enterprises still use IE6 and force it on their employees, regardless of whether not they all use the IE6-dependent software. So it's not just IT departments that don't know any better or are slow to adapt. It's also software developers! So not only should we be asking IT departments why the stronghold in IE6 usage, but also software developers.
What difference does it make?
IE6 is almost a decade old! Online that makes it oh, only a bit younger than good ol' Lucy, making it woefully outdated for the advanced methods and technologies of modern web design. (Think of it this way: it's like riding a horse and carriage to and from work every day when everyone else already has motorized vehicle.) And with that age also means more and more security holes (even as Microsoft tries to patch them after the Google China attack/hack). That's the worst of it. The other stuff pretty much boils down to a sub-par Internet viewing experience, including lack of transparent PNG support without hacks, crashing, workarounds for Flash, and poor support for web standards.
The bottom line is that IE6 is unsafe and a poor excuse for a web browser. How about you try these options instead: