IE 8 update: 1 step forwards 2 steps back 2 steps forwards again. March 3, 2008 7:56 PM Subscribe
Update on IE 8 standard support - IE will now render in standards mode by default, without any silly meta tag.
Phew. I wonder if the collective howl of net outrage (here and practically everywhere else I saw it discussed) had anything to do with it?
Phew. I wonder if the collective howl of net outrage (here and practically everywhere else I saw it discussed) had anything to do with it?
Good.
posted by localhuman at 8:17 PM on March 3, 2008
posted by localhuman at 8:17 PM on March 3, 2008
The important question is how will IE8 render the Big Red Button.
posted by Pastabagel at 8:25 PM on March 3, 2008
posted by Pastabagel at 8:25 PM on March 3, 2008
Sorry, that should be BIGGR and REDDR. (web 2.0 and all that)
posted by blue_beetle at 8:31 PM on March 3, 2008
posted by blue_beetle at 8:31 PM on March 3, 2008
I really don't understand why Microsoft has yet to embrace, extend and extinguish Firefox.
posted by flabdablet at 9:08 PM on March 3, 2008
posted by flabdablet at 9:08 PM on March 3, 2008
I really don't understand why Microsoft has yet to embrace, extend and extinguish Firefox.
Antitrust laws.
posted by secret about box at 9:34 PM on March 3, 2008
Antitrust laws.
posted by secret about box at 9:34 PM on March 3, 2008
The important question is how will IE8 render the Big Red Button.
Well, um, ideally exactly the same as Safari and Firefox, using the exact same code and no silly hacks.
posted by Artw at 10:01 PM on March 3, 2008
Well, um, ideally exactly the same as Safari and Firefox, using the exact same code and no silly hacks.
posted by Artw at 10:01 PM on March 3, 2008
This seems too good to be true. What's the catch? No really... come on, you can tell me. Seriously.
posted by -t at 10:44 PM on March 3, 2008
posted by -t at 10:44 PM on March 3, 2008
Thanks for the update. This would eventually trickle through to the other blogs I read, but this is a big deal and I saw it here first.
posted by ardgedee at 5:28 AM on March 4, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by ardgedee at 5:28 AM on March 4, 2008 [1 favorite]
> I really don't understand why Microsoft has yet to embrace, extend and extinguish Firefox.
Because that's not possible, any more than Microsoft has any way to prevent anybody else from writing a word processor, spreadsheet, or mail application. The various Mozilla projects have the advantage of backing from a nonprofit organization with very deep pockets and a zealous user/developer base. And deploying it costs nothing, with effectively no licensing constraints.
If IE 6 had unimpeachable standards support up through the technologies available at the time, and added on to that optional proprietary functions that allowed it an advantage in serving up online content, Netscape/Mozilla/Firefox would have been deemed irrelevant and withered away.
And it almost happened. While Netscape/Mozilla was floundering, the early IE 6 was the better of them, and combined with Windows' dominance it could have ended up being the world's standard browser in the same way that Word is the (English-speaking) world's standard word processor. But instead Microsoft let it languish. Mozilla/Firefox got its act together, the Macintosh returned from irrelevance carrying a web browser that was also pretty darned good, and we're in the situation we are now. IE 7 is a vast improvement over IE 6, but it's still not as good as what Mozilla and Apple were shipping a couple years ago. I sincerely hope that IE 8 is everything Microsoft claims. My hopes aren't high, though -- their record at shipping what they promise is poor.
No, Opera is not relevant to this narrative, despite being cheap (at the time, free now) and standards-conformant all up and down. But expect it see it in a leading role in the coming story of the non-desktop web, because of its prominence in mobile phones and set-top boxes.
posted by ardgedee at 5:52 AM on March 4, 2008
Because that's not possible, any more than Microsoft has any way to prevent anybody else from writing a word processor, spreadsheet, or mail application. The various Mozilla projects have the advantage of backing from a nonprofit organization with very deep pockets and a zealous user/developer base. And deploying it costs nothing, with effectively no licensing constraints.
If IE 6 had unimpeachable standards support up through the technologies available at the time, and added on to that optional proprietary functions that allowed it an advantage in serving up online content, Netscape/Mozilla/Firefox would have been deemed irrelevant and withered away.
And it almost happened. While Netscape/Mozilla was floundering, the early IE 6 was the better of them, and combined with Windows' dominance it could have ended up being the world's standard browser in the same way that Word is the (English-speaking) world's standard word processor. But instead Microsoft let it languish. Mozilla/Firefox got its act together, the Macintosh returned from irrelevance carrying a web browser that was also pretty darned good, and we're in the situation we are now. IE 7 is a vast improvement over IE 6, but it's still not as good as what Mozilla and Apple were shipping a couple years ago. I sincerely hope that IE 8 is everything Microsoft claims. My hopes aren't high, though -- their record at shipping what they promise is poor.
No, Opera is not relevant to this narrative, despite being cheap (at the time, free now) and standards-conformant all up and down. But expect it see it in a leading role in the coming story of the non-desktop web, because of its prominence in mobile phones and set-top boxes.
posted by ardgedee at 5:52 AM on March 4, 2008
Another project I'll probably never get around to: collecting all the mefi browser-discussion threads over the years into a sort of comparative narrative. There's been at least one thread, I think, for every major version release of IE, and a number for Moz, and at least a couple (if my dim recollections are correct) for other browsers. It'd be kind of neat to line this stuff up from 1999 on through now and see what, exactly, is what.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:51 AM on March 4, 2008
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:51 AM on March 4, 2008
That's too bad. This is just like smart tags all over again. They try to do what they think is best for customers, there is public outcry and whining, and they cave to pressure. Man, can anybody really take them seriously as evil, take-over-the-world types anymore? So sad.
posted by jeffamaphone at 2:05 PM on March 4, 2008
posted by jeffamaphone at 2:05 PM on March 4, 2008
To save you some time, cortex, here's the summary:
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
posted by dg at 2:09 PM on March 4, 2008
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
posted by dg at 2:09 PM on March 4, 2008
I was wondering what the protocol for following up on a previous FPP I made would be. Thx for clearing that up.
(genuine comment here, not snarkasm)
That having been said - I checked out the IE8 beta on my VMWare WinXP install. Doesn't break any of my webs. Yet.
posted by revmitcz at 10:34 PM on March 7, 2008
(genuine comment here, not snarkasm)
That having been said - I checked out the IE8 beta on my VMWare WinXP install. Doesn't break any of my webs. Yet.
posted by revmitcz at 10:34 PM on March 7, 2008
Seemed like the right place for it, if only because the subjects sort of web-techy.
posted by Artw at 11:40 PM on March 7, 2008
posted by Artw at 11:40 PM on March 7, 2008
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posted by brain_drain at 8:05 PM on March 3, 2008