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Do you use Internet Explorer 6? Why?
According to W3Schools, 26.6% of internet traffic comes from Internet Explorer. Of that 14% comes from IE6, which is now over a decade old. Why do people still use IE6?
Best Answer
- Recommended by:
- James Burkhart,
- Marcus Bearden,
- John Bozarjian
I believe that was the last version that did not have tabs... simple as it sounds.
Frankly, I am surprised that anyone still uses any version of IE as their primary browser. Google's Chrome is so much faster and gets upgrade so much more often.
My primary browser is RockMelt (A Chromium based browser with social media tools built in). However, I also run the Release Candidate of IE9, which I only use to access our cloud-based helpdesk system (it's active-x based), and I run the latest release of FireFox for LogMein sessions so I can use all of the LMI features.
- Recommended by:
- Brian Phelps,
- Chad Massaker
My company still has IE6 as our corporate web browser. We are a national company with thousands of employees. . . .
Why?
Well, we have systems that will ONLY run on IE6 and need major and costly upgrades to get it to run on other browsers.
While the company is still running IE6, a push has been on to move to IE8 and we are at about 20% of users on IE8. As a web developer - I can't wait for that day!
The web development team is planning to have a big party and a massive bonfire of all IE6 disks once we finally get the last IE6 box out of here :)
By that time though IE10 will be out :)
- Recommended by:
- Chad Massaker
For those who prefer IE, IE6 also consumes far less system resources than modern generations. In corporate environments where those resources are often minimal at best, this makes a lot of sense.
Most users in business also couldn't care less about displaying standards correctly. They just want their websites to "work" and since everyone STILL designs around IE when they're building a website, they have no reason to move out of their comfort zone. Sure IE6 may not look perfect but the average user probably isn't even noticing.
@Chad I don't think you'll see a mass adoption of Firefox / Chrome in the corporate world until two things happen.
1. Companies realize that Active-X is a joke at best and a royal nightmare on every other day.
2. The web community decides that IE no longer has strong enough market share to waste time specifically designing websites to function properly in IE. When we start developing purely based on the standards that Firefox, Chrome and Safari support and ignoring IE's proprietary rendering engines, then you'll see more corporate adoption of those browsers.
Unless of course you're in @Ryan's situation...
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Chad, Ryan, Marcus, and Benjamin all make very good points, though I believe we, as a web community, are coming 'round the bend on burying IE6.
Not only do we have to redevelop old applications with strict requirements, but the question is not only a technology one (a browser riddled with security issues as well as layout issues), but one of reputation. Everyone understands there are certain monetary and system limitations with any business, but when a user comes to you with an IE6 issue, it comes with a grain of salt. It's recognized as an archaic browser and a lot of times an easier solution is the common 'try on firefox or Chrome, etc'. It's not that we don't empathize, but we would rather help them be more productive with up to date technology. It's akin to seeing someone answer a phone call on a DynaTAC cell phone.
That's not to say user's issues should not be taken into consideration when they are using an outdated browser, but ultimately there is only so much you can do. I personally still maximize all web work I do for all browsers that have a decent market share.
I believe this reputation factor, along with popular sites not supporting IE6 and home users jumping to IE 8/9, Chrome, or Firefox, we will move out of the quagmire that is IE6 compatibility. It is also obvious that Microsoft itself is tired of it's monster. Kudos to them for launching http://www.ie6countdown.com/ to help.