Why Geeks Hate IE

Last December I downloaded the Google Chrome browser, along with a boatload of extensions, just to check it out and go back to using Firefox.. within a day I switched and Chrome has been my default browser ever since. I find Chrome to be much faster and the extensions do everything I need.

I have not used IE for a long time so I was interested in the How-To-Geek's recent post titled Why Do So Many Geeks Hate Internet Explorer? Here are a few of his points:
  • Microsoft Stopped Trying: By the time Microsoft released Internet Explorer 6 in 2001, complete with lots of new features for web developers, since there was no competition and they had a 95% market share, Microsoft just stopped trying—seriously, they did nothing for 5 years even after Firefox was released and geeks started migrating left and right
  • Microsoft-Specific Features: The whole problem with Microsoft’s innovation is that much of it was done in ways that didn’t follow the web standards—this wasn’t as big of a problem when Internet Explorer was the only game in town, but once Firefox and Webkit came around and started following the standards correctly, suddenly it became a huge problem for web developers.
  • Security Holes and Crashing: Since Microsoft decided they didn’t need to try anymore, and they didn’t keep up with the competition from Firefox and other browsers, bugs and security holes just cropped up left and right—really terrible ones, too.
The geek ends by saying that he thinks that IE9 will bring Microsoft back into the  browser game. I am not so sure it will - for me anyways. I am happy using Chrome.

4 comments:

  1. I use Chrome too, because my daughter said to me...'Mom, why don't you have Chrome?' And the she proceeded to download it for me.

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  2. I use chrome a lot too...firefox some. On my netbook....which doesn't have much umph (aka RAM)I use a somewhat obscure browser that doesn't use much in the way of system resources. I use it mainly when I am multitasking and have a lot of open programs. It's called KMelon and thus far seems quite usable. I am on chrome now since all I am doing is browsing FB :) I told my boss...very geeky...biomedical director about chrome. He'd never heard of it. He tried it and likes it...a lot.

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  3. I do think that Chrome has been flying under the radar and not a lot of folks have heard of it. My poor wife gets dragged along when I makes these types of changes. She does like Chrome though.

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  4. Microsoft needs to switch to WebKit asap. Someone needs to tell them that the browser wars are over...Webkit won :)

    [Chrome user here who occasionally uses Konqueror]

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