A Message for Windows Users Who Visit This Lamp
06/24/2006 14:56 Filed in: Technology
No, I promise this isn't a Mac vs. Windows entry. But it is an every decent browser in the world vs. Internet Explorer 6 polemic.
If you're using Internet Explorer 6 for Windows (IE6), not only are you not seeing my website correctly, but you're probably missing out when viewing lots of other websites as well. Look for instance at the way my menu system is supposed to look:
But if you're using Internet Explorer 6 for Windows, you get this:
The problem is that IE6, a browser released five years ago, will not read .png graphics and CSS styles correctly even though they meet current internet standards. Sadly, IE6 does not meet current internet standards. Sometimes, graphics or tables that I include in a blog get pushed down below the last bit of text in my sidebar meaning that the IE6 user has to scroll down. When I posted my last entry I included a table, and because it was the top entry of my blog, any visitor to the site using IE6 either thought there was only one very short entry on the page or perhaps was smart enough to scroll down to see the rest.
So what are you going to do? If you are a Windows user, it's not your fault that Microsoft hasn't updated Internet Explorer in five years. But it is your fault if you choose to stay with a browser representative of old technology. I recommend that all Windows users do one of two things--either install the beta for MS Explorer 7 (which is actually quite stable) or download the Mozilla Firefox browser (better option). Who knows what else you're missing as you surf the internet by not using a modern browser?
Here's the deal--I'm no expert on these things, but I'm told that I could go in and supposedly edit the CSS style sheets and tweak them for IE6 users. But IE6 is old technology that will eventually go away.
Currently, according to the Sitemeter stats, IE6 users only make up about 47% of visitors to my site. That's way down from what it used to be. That number can only get lower, so I'm not going to tweak my site so that it will work for IE6 users. To me, that's a bit ridiculous even if they are the current majority. It's a shrinking majority.
By the way, if you're using a Mac browser such as Safari or Firefox to view this site, everything should be fine (unless you're using IE5). I find it very interesting that while supposedly Windows is supposed to have a 90%+ niche of the computer market, Windows users only account for 69% or so of the visitors to my site. Look at this Sitemeter chart:
So don't just continue to look at the internet through scratched old dirty glasses. Download Firefox, the IE7 beta, or better yet, get a Mac.
For those who are interested, I am placing some thumbnails below that demonstrate how my website looks in different browsers. Click on any of them to get a fullscreen view.
THIS LAMP BY BROWSER THUMBNAILS (click on an image to get a fullscreen view).
If you're using Internet Explorer 6 for Windows (IE6), not only are you not seeing my website correctly, but you're probably missing out when viewing lots of other websites as well. Look for instance at the way my menu system is supposed to look:
But if you're using Internet Explorer 6 for Windows, you get this:
The problem is that IE6, a browser released five years ago, will not read .png graphics and CSS styles correctly even though they meet current internet standards. Sadly, IE6 does not meet current internet standards. Sometimes, graphics or tables that I include in a blog get pushed down below the last bit of text in my sidebar meaning that the IE6 user has to scroll down. When I posted my last entry I included a table, and because it was the top entry of my blog, any visitor to the site using IE6 either thought there was only one very short entry on the page or perhaps was smart enough to scroll down to see the rest.
So what are you going to do? If you are a Windows user, it's not your fault that Microsoft hasn't updated Internet Explorer in five years. But it is your fault if you choose to stay with a browser representative of old technology. I recommend that all Windows users do one of two things--either install the beta for MS Explorer 7 (which is actually quite stable) or download the Mozilla Firefox browser (better option). Who knows what else you're missing as you surf the internet by not using a modern browser?
Here's the deal--I'm no expert on these things, but I'm told that I could go in and supposedly edit the CSS style sheets and tweak them for IE6 users. But IE6 is old technology that will eventually go away.
Currently, according to the Sitemeter stats, IE6 users only make up about 47% of visitors to my site. That's way down from what it used to be. That number can only get lower, so I'm not going to tweak my site so that it will work for IE6 users. To me, that's a bit ridiculous even if they are the current majority. It's a shrinking majority.
By the way, if you're using a Mac browser such as Safari or Firefox to view this site, everything should be fine (unless you're using IE5). I find it very interesting that while supposedly Windows is supposed to have a 90%+ niche of the computer market, Windows users only account for 69% or so of the visitors to my site. Look at this Sitemeter chart:
So don't just continue to look at the internet through scratched old dirty glasses. Download Firefox, the IE7 beta, or better yet, get a Mac.
For those who are interested, I am placing some thumbnails below that demonstrate how my website looks in different browsers. Click on any of them to get a fullscreen view.
THIS LAMP BY BROWSER THUMBNAILS (click on an image to get a fullscreen view).
