Comments on: The Browser That Wouldn’t Die and the Two Tier Web http://eclecticdreams.com/blog/the-browser-that-wouldnt-die-and-the-two-tier-web A Web Design and Development Blog Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:27:24 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Matt http://eclecticdreams.com/blog/the-browser-that-wouldnt-die-and-the-two-tier-web/comment-page-1#comment-30385 Matt Tue, 12 Jan 2010 20:08:41 +0000 http://eclecticdreams.com/?p=231#comment-30385 You're an enlightened sysadmin though, in that you at least allow Firefox as an option. The complex dependencies and legacy systems are the tricky ones, "we can't upgrade cos it breaks X key business system". However, they're also indirectly responsible for about 25% of a given front-end web build's testing and bugfix overhead, which is effectively costing every business which demands that support money. At some point one cost will outweigh the other. Or people will just start getting very used to the <a href="http://code.google.com/p/universal-ie6-css/" rel="nofollow">IE6 Universal stylesheet</a> Of course, from a web dev point of view, if it won't work past IE6 and was built in the last 5 years, whoever built it did a shoddy job. No telling what else is wrong with it... ;) You’re an enlightened sysadmin though, in that you at least allow Firefox as an option.

The complex dependencies and legacy systems are the tricky ones, “we can’t upgrade cos it breaks X key business system”. However, they’re also indirectly responsible for about 25% of a given front-end web build’s testing and bugfix overhead, which is effectively costing every business which demands that support money.

At some point one cost will outweigh the other. Or people will just start getting very used to the IE6 Universal stylesheet

Of course, from a web dev point of view, if it won’t work past IE6 and was built in the last 5 years, whoever built it did a shoddy job. No telling what else is wrong with it… ;)

]]> By: mauvedeity http://eclecticdreams.com/blog/the-browser-that-wouldnt-die-and-the-two-tier-web/comment-page-1#comment-30326 mauvedeity Tue, 12 Jan 2010 09:28:05 +0000 http://eclecticdreams.com/?p=231#comment-30326 Your analysis misses out one or two points, which I see as the other side of the debate - the enterprise sysadmin. Firstly, as I try to keep the Windows machines I look after fairly secure, I want the latest and greatest of everything, because it's only when I'm sure everything is patched up to date that I'm secure. It's worse here, because we have 80-something laptop users, and so I don't even know where the computers I look after are most of the time. So, put me down for IE8! Second, and the bigger point - some of our apps don't work past IE6. While you can handwave this all you want as a web developer, this is an utter showstopper as an admin. If an IE upgrade, or any upgrade, breaks a corporate application, then it does not go ahead. End of. Of course, this means that we simply install Firefox alongside IE, and allow people to use that... Your analysis misses out one or two points, which I see as the other side of the debate – the enterprise sysadmin.

Firstly, as I try to keep the Windows machines I look after fairly secure, I want the latest and greatest of everything, because it’s only when I’m sure everything is patched up to date that I’m secure. It’s worse here, because we have 80-something laptop users, and so I don’t even know where the computers I look after are most of the time. So, put me down for IE8!

Second, and the bigger point – some of our apps don’t work past IE6. While you can handwave this all you want as a web developer, this is an utter showstopper as an admin. If an IE upgrade, or any upgrade, breaks a corporate application, then it does not go ahead. End of.

Of course, this means that we simply install Firefox alongside IE, and allow people to use that…

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