Internet Exploder
Well, I’m sure nearly everyone that reads this thing knows about this, but I’m going to write about it anyway. Basically, if you are using Internet Explorer….SWITCH!!! There are several other great browsers out there, my favorites being Mozilla and Firefox. Firefox is a derivative of Mozilla, so it runs similary. You could also take a look at the Opera web browser.
The main spark underneath this posting is a thread on SlashDot. It talks about how Internet Explorer is a horrible web browser, does not follow standards, and is full of security holes.
If you aren’t convinced by Internet Explorer being full of security holes and not following standards, then you should switch for the tabbed browsing and popup blocking. Imagine browsing the internet in only one window, with links loading in the background while you finish reading one page. And to top it off, you never have to worry about popups again.
One thing that really bugs me about Internet Explorer is the non-standards compliance. If you want to see an example, check out my online resume. You’ll notice the menu on the left hand side of the screen. Now, if you look at it in Internet Explorer, and scroll down, you’ll see that the menu does not “fix” itself and follow the page down. If you view the same page in another browser (i.e. Mozilla, Firebird, or Opera), you’ll see that the menu does follow down the side and stay “fixed.” The basic reason behind this is that Internet Explorer is non-standards compliant. The CSS spec by the W3C says that when a div tag’s position is specified as “fixed” the items inside that div tag should stay in place when the page is scrolled. This is the case on that page.
Now, for those of you who don’t care about the reasoning behind how the fixed menu works, then just understand that Internet Explorer is not compliant with the standards put out by the World-Wide Web Consortium. Microsoft has time and time again chosen to not follow standards put out by many industry groups (not just in web browsers), and should not be rewarded with market share or money for doing so. Do your part to make Microsoft listen to consumers, businesses, and industry groups by switching to another, more standards compliant and secure web browser.
