[thelist] favicon weirdness

[James Aylard]

Shoshannah Forbes wrote:

> Silly me. And I thought that the whole idea behind a web
> application is that it is OS independent. Yes, I know MS
> has been pushing away from that ideal for a few years
> now. But I simply do not get why so many web developers
> are going with that

    IMO, it depends on the purpose. For a typical web site, it generally
makes sense to build it to W3C standards with broad browser compatibility
and OS independence. But some web _applications_ require functionality that
is either poorly supported or unsupported in a cross-browser,
standards-compliant framework. And in many of those cases, such as on a
corporate Intranet, the intended audience is using a known browser and
platform (usually IE 5+ on some 32-bit flavor of Windows). In that context
it is not only possible, but also appropriate IMO, to use technologies that
extend beyond W3C compliance.

> Sure it is good for Microsoft, but how is it good for us, and more
> important, how is it good for the users?

    Very. I strongly agree that Microsoft should tighten up and further
complete IE's adherence to W3C recommendations, while at the same time
developing and enhancing technologies that are outside the limits of
established standards. And also that it is desirable for developers to use
those tools so long as they use them wisely.

James Aylard
evolt at pixelwright.com