Anoizes | Design Inspiration and Resources

I was recently working on a project that needed some IE6 cross browser compatibility work when I once again was reminded of the horrors of designing for this horribly archaic browser. Before I get started with why Internet Explorer 6 should be wiped from the face of this earth let me first make a plea to all internet users.
PLEASE… I BEG YOU UNINSTALL IE6 OR AT THE VERY LEAST UPGRADE TO IE8! Why not switch to a new browser? I prefer Firefox, but there are a lot of other options that are as always free. Give these browsers a shot. Opera, Safari or Google Chrome.
If you’re using IE6 to browse the internet you’re missing out on a lot of perks that the web has to offer. You’re not seeing the web as it was intended to be seen. Many design standards are not supported by IE6 and in turn you’re missing out on a lot of content. Some fixes for IE6 are to simply omit offending content. This can easily be avoided by updating your browser to the most current version. Not that I support IE as I think that’s a lousy browser as well, but at least the newest version of IE is much more compatible with modern coding standards.

Google Doesn’t Support IE6

The following excerpt is from Google’s official blog on Friday, January 29, 2010 at 2:00 PM. Google has stopped supporting IE6 so what does that say?
The web has evolved in the last ten years, from simple text pages to rich, interactive applications including video and voice. Unfortunately, very old browsers cannot run many of these new features effectively. So to help ensure your business can use the latest, most advanced web apps, we encourage you to update your browsers as soon as possible. There are many choices:
Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0+
Mozilla Firefox 3.0+
Google Chrome 4.0+
Safari 3.0+
Many other companies have already stopped supporting older browsers like Internet Explorer 6.0 as well as browsers that are not supported by their own manufacturers. We’re also going to begin phasing out our support, starting with Google Docs and Google Sites. As a result you may find that from March 1 key functionality within these products — as well as new Docs and Sites features — won’t work properly in older browsers.

The design community does not support it

Here’s a short list; believe me it could go on and on, of designers that want to see IE6 go away.
From Wikipedia
Unlike most other browsers currently in use, IE6 does not fully nor properly support CSS version 2, which makes it difficult for web developers to ensure compatibility with the browser without degrading the experience for users of more modern browsers. Developers often have to resort to strategies such as CSS hacks, conditional comments, or other forms of browser sniffing to make their websites work in IE6.

How to alert viewers that they’re using a horribly outdated browser

If you’re viewing my website in IE6 you’ll see the following red bar at the top of the page.



It warns the user they are using an inferior product and how to go about updating to a more standards compliant browser. Copy and paste the code below into your header file just after the opening body tag.

<!--[if lte IE 6]> <div class="notice"> <table bgcolor="#f61717"> <tr> <td><img src="http://www.natebal.com/images/die-ie.jpg" alt="Down With IE6" title="Down With IE6" hspace="5" /></td> <td align="center">WARNING YOU&#8217;RE USING AN INCREDIBLY INFERIOR BROWSER RELEASED MORE THAN 9 YEARS AGO.</p> <p>To view this website how it was meant to be seen, I highly recommend using a modern, standards-compliant browser &#8211; such as <a href="http://www.firefox.com">Firefox</a>, <a href="http://www.opera.com/">Opera</a>, <a href="http://www.apple.com/safari/">Safari</a> or <a href="http://www.google.com/chrome">Google Chrome</a>. <br />All of which are 100% free. Please install a proper browser and help stamp out the use of Internet Explorer 6 on the internet.</td> <td><img src="http://www.natebal.com/images/die-ie.jpg" alt="Down With IE6" title="Down With IE6" hspace="5" /></td> </tr> </table> </div> <p><![endif]-->

Lets give Internet Explorer 6 a viking funeral

From: BringDownIE6.com

The premise is simple: Internet Explorer 6 is antiquated, doesn’t support key web standards, and should be phased out. This isn’t about being anti-Microsoft, it’s about making sure that we encourage people to move to modern browsers such as IE8, Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera. IE6 accounts for up to 20% of web usage, primarily via business users. Clients pressure designers to ’force’ sites to work in IE6, and designers, not wanting to lose business, comply, using hacks and workarounds.