Microsoft needs to let Internet Explorer Die.

If you want to make any programmer instantly angry at you just utter the phrase: “oh ya, make sure it’s IE 6 compatible”.  IE 6 is now an ancient browser from a company that refuses to let it die.   This browser which shipped with XP SP 2 is rated by many one of the worst software programs of all time.  Beyond the security holes, it was most noitorius for it’s inability to support open standards.  Open standards allow programmers to easily design something that would look and function properly regardless of operating system or web browser.  Yet not supporting open standards was one of the methods Microsoft deployed to destroy Netscape and other start-up browsers.  By having a monoply of pre-installed browsers – MS was able to exert control.  With full market share designers began to only design for IE – so sites would look perfect in Explorer – yet be completely broken in Netscape.  Which browser would you use to surf the web?

And it worked very well for a very long time.  Even I became an Internet Explorer fan as IE just worked – well with their non-standard coding.  But over time Microsoft slowed development, new features and upgrades few and far between.  Tired of being stifled by the lack of innovation and new features consumers opted for new browsers that provided consumers with new innovations.

But in recent years IE has become the browser that is impossible to design for.  Sloppy coding, security holes, and so many conflicting standards.  Every successive browser that gets released seems to amplify the problem, as there’s compatability issues from browser to browser.   Microsoft has always been slow to make updates and release new product features.   And when it finally rolls out new editions, they simply are playing catch-up with Firefox, Opera, Safari or Chrome.

Since the anti-trust lawsuits of the 90’s started – Microsoft has all but avoided any form of integration with other MS products.  Which brings up the whole point of why bother?  No single corporation can win against open source.  A well oiled open source network has much more resources (including talent) available vs.  the resources their company can allocate.   The updates and improvements being made to Firefox now appear at lightning speed.

Therefore what purpose does IE serve?  Pride?  Clearly the trashing that IE gets in the media isn’t what you call good marketing, rather it’s the opposite.  The continous security threats and never ending patches doesn’t help present the rest of the organization in a positive light.  And you know you have problems when the Government of Germany advises it’s citizens not to use the browser – or when Google blames hacking of their products on compromised IE browser do you realize you have problems.

I’m sure there’s ways for IE to maintain it’s independence – but with a Mozilla Firefox core, just tweaked to be MS friendly.

Overall IE serves no purpose, it’s a distraction to the company, consumers and developers.

It’s time to admit defeat, and focus on core strengths.

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