[thelist] Jumping In With Both Feet

Mark Howells mark at mountain.ch
Tue Dec 11 07:55:20 CST 2001


> Paul Backhouse (Evolt list) wrote:
> 
> older browsers - why are people still using them?
> b: maybe they don't know how to upgrade - are unsure?

(This reply is copied to both the Evolt (http://www.evolt.org) and
Webdesign-L (http://webdesign-l.com) lists.)

Why people are still using "older" browsers is an impossible question to
answer. What is defined as an "old" browser? Netscape released version 4.7.9
for Macintosh in November THIS YEAR (!) - does that make it an old or new
browser? At the time of writing, over 634,000 people had "upgraded" to this
new version, when a standards compliant version was on the same list.

- http://www.mark.ac/journal/?m=200111#27
- http://www.zeldman.com/daily/com1101c.html#whatsthatsmell
- 
http://download.cnet.com/downloads/0-10201-100-7875180.html?tag=st.dl.10005-
103-1.lst-7-1.7875180

Perhaps cNet should take a look at the sort options for their lists; because
the standards-compliant browser (v6.x) isn't at the top of the list, the
shitty 4.7.9 appears to be the newest when loading the page with the default
view, simply because it is the most popular.

However, web developers should try, wherever possible, to convince users to
upgrade to the most up to date version of their browser, or direct them to
the correct resources via user-friendly means.

Mark Howells
Working in a Winter Wonderland
http://www.mark.ac





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