Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 chasing Apple's Safari

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 59
    xeroplyxeroply Posts: 1member
    Looks like Microsoft is trying to resurrect "smart tags" in IE, after pulling them years ago due to the uproar over copyright, privacy, etc..



    Ooh, but now they're called "Activities." Maybe no one will notice/remember...
  • Reply 22 of 59
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dave K. View Post


    Can someone point out to me what is the point of the Acid tests besides bragging rights...



    The Acid tests are used establishing baseline interoperability between web browsers. The Acid3 test is testing any open standard that is after 2004. I believe it tests DOMs, HTTP, CSS, Unicode, ECMA, SMIL, SVG.



    If you can think of a better way for web browsers to find a common ground then have at it. The good news is that MS is following suit.
  • Reply 23 of 59
    tacojohntacojohn Posts: 980member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gwilli View Post


    Great, the majority of web users are still using IE6, never mind IE7, all for IE8 if it's actually web standards compliant as IE7 was SUPPOSED to be. Looks like I'll be adding yet another IE style-sheet to my clients websites.



    Not according to our sites stats...



    IE6 in green

    IE7 in blue







    Browser share for good measure



  • Reply 24 of 59
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tacojohn View Post


    Not according to our sites stats...



    Wow! I didn't know Safari has so much.
  • Reply 25 of 59
    jdradenjdraden Posts: 89member
    Did anyone notice Microsoft's SDK remark?

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    "We're releasing Silverlight on more and more mobile platforms, said Scott Guthrie, Microsoft's Corporate Vice President, Developer Division. "We'll release it on anything with an SDK."



    It seems like they're hinting that once the iPhone SDK is out, they'll build Silverlight for it. Adobe should pay attention to this.
  • Reply 26 of 59
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gwilli View Post


    The proper way to get around IE specific problems isn't to write hacks, it's to use conditional comments to pull in different style sheets if your website is having problems with specific versions of IE. Works a treat, and means that you can make adjustments if your site's playing up in IE6 and not IE7 or visa versa, and means your CSS will validate.



    Ah, no argument there. But I was thinking more along the lines of designing pages which are actually compatible with the various browsers without a need for multiple style sheets. And using various conditional selector 'hacks' you can build in support for older IE browsers without losing validation or breaking things up. I guess it depends on the work you are doing.



    IE7 finally offers excellent CSS support and implementation, though the box model (as you probably know well) is still jacked up a bit. CSS2 introduced a whole new mess of bugs and Microsoft has a lot of work to get proper support going in that area. There's no sense in talking about CSS3 just yet.
  • Reply 27 of 59
    aegisdesignaegisdesign Posts: 2,914member
    WTF?



    Web Slices require website developers to create custom code on their site. It's in no way like Web Clips. You can't just clip out any part of any site.



    Activities are nothing like Google Maps. Google Maps is a service. Activities are more like Data Detectors in Apple Mail. Again you have to implement custom code on your site using an XML OpenService (an MS definied standard) file and add an install button to your website the user clicks, which apparently only works when IE8 is NOT RUNNING IN STANDARDS MODE.



    Both these new features are described at http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/ie8whitepapers



    If Apple were to add Data Detectors to Safari and open the DD API out to 3rd parties so they could add their own services, they'd have a solution that would totally anhilate 'Activities' as Data Detectors would work on sites without having to add special code.
  • Reply 28 of 59
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tacojohn View Post


    Not according to our sites stats...



    Here are some statistics for a site that links a few popular video games to historic studies. It has a large following of youth and academics alike. Firefox seems pretty similar, but Safari isn't quite as frequently used. Perhaps due to a percentage of browsing from various schools.



    Month-to-date.



    Browser - Hits - Share

    MS Internet Explorer\t469159\t63 %

    \tFirefox\t237989\t31.9 %

    \tSafari\t14550\t1.9 %

    \tOpera\t11448\t1.5 %
  • Reply 29 of 59
    tacojohntacojohn Posts: 980member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Wow! I didn't know Safari has so much.



    I wouldn't say our stats are the end all be all- every site is different...



    BTW- IE8 is out for download if anyone cares.
  • Reply 30 of 59
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JDraden View Post


    Did anyone notice Microsoft's SDK remark?

    It seems like they're hinting that once the iPhone SDK is out, they'll build Silverlight for it. Adobe should pay attention to this.



    Seems very likely. They had Silverlight for OS X at the same time it was available for WIndows. I can't remember MS ever doing that.
  • Reply 31 of 59
    http://marketshare.hitslink.com/report.aspx?qprid=3



    Here's a good tracker of browser marketshare. On their estimations IE7 overtook IE6 in December 2007.



    Standards are a good thing. Glad MS is moving slowly slowly slowly in the right direction. (While they seem to be doing their old proprietary tricks in other areas! argh...)
  • Reply 32 of 59
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by CommodityFetish View Post


    http://marketshare.hitslink.com/report.aspx?qprid=3

    Here's a good tracker of browser marketshare. On their estimations IE7 overtook IE6 in December 2007.

    Standards are a good thing. Glad MS is moving slowly slowly slowly in the right direction. (While they seem to be doing their old proprietary tricks in other areas! argh...)



    The amalgamated IE browsers show that they are losing a little marketshare each month. Just a few 10th of a percent, but it's consistent. I have no desire to see MS lose there majority share in the browser market so long as they as conform to open standards. Unfortunately, it seems the only way they will conform is to lose marketshare.



    I think WebKit based browsers will beat out FF over the few years if MID become half as popular as the iPod. There just isn't another engine that works well on the mobile platform.
  • Reply 33 of 59
    why no css3 support?



  • Reply 34 of 59
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mariofreak85 View Post


    why no css3 support?



    I don't believe IE7 has full CSS2 support. In usual MS fashion they will add some of the more common and popular CCS3 support, but that is it. I can't even find evidence that IE8 will fully support CSS2.
  • Reply 35 of 59
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mariofreak85 View Post


    why no css3 support?



    I'll be happy if they can get CSS2 working.
  • Reply 36 of 59
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Xian Zhu Xuande View Post


    I'll be happy if they can get CSS2 working.







    I found this funny except when looking for IE8's CSS2 compliance...
    "A coworker and I were talking about IE & CSS (or perhaps I should say cursing it) one day, and we agreed upon a projected timeline of when Microsoft would get it right. In IE8, CSS2 will finally be fully implemented. In IE9, the CSS2 implementation will be fixed to actually work properly. In IE10, some CSS3 will be supported, and by the time IE11 is released we will have gotten enough people to use good web browsers that it won't matter anymore."
  • Reply 37 of 59
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dreyfus2 View Post


    Well, a lot of Web designers use OS X, and the prospect of cutting development time with complex layouts by 50% (if it really does support standards this time) will allow many to meet the own family again.



    Wrong! Unfortunately we have to code our pages for yet another browser because all the deployed sites with IE workarounds will now be broken, so a lot of stuff will need to be re-tested/re-coded. And, who ever heard of computer technology enabling more time with the family - that went the way of the paperless office back in the 80's. No time off for you!
  • Reply 38 of 59
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    Wrong! Unfortunately we have to code our pages for yet another browser because all the deployed sites with IE workarounds will now be broken, so a lot of stuff will need to be re-tested/re-coded. And, who ever heard of computer technology enabling more time with the family - that went the way of the paperless office back in the 80's. No time off for you!



    I think the major hack breaking took place with IE7. That shouldn't be as great an issue with IE8, especially with it following so close on the heels of IE7. And if people have been version targeting in the way Microsoft suggested nothing much should break. IE7 is a pain, but it isn't too hard to get working properly (as long as you don't get too ambitious).



    But yeah... nobody in the technology field will get to see their family any sooner.
  • Reply 39 of 59
    deapeajaydeapeajay Posts: 909member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gwilli View Post


    Great, the majority of web users are still using IE6, never mind IE7, all for IE8 if it's actually web standards compliant as IE7 was SUPPOSED to be. Looks like I'll be adding yet another IE style-sheet to my clients websites.



    7's not perfect, but I markup in XHTML Strict and and I'll only occasionally have to use another sheet for 7, it works 95% of the time for me. Hoping 8 pushes that to 100. But as odd as it sounds, thank goodness for Microsoft's conditional comments if it doesn't work.
  • Reply 40 of 59
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by CommodityFetish View Post


    http://marketshare.hitslink.com/report.aspx?qprid=3



    Here's a good tracker of browser marketshare. On their estimations IE7 overtook IE6 in December 2007.



    Standards are a good thing. Glad MS is moving slowly slowly slowly in the right direction. (While they seem to be doing their old proprietary tricks in other areas! argh...)



    Thanks for that, I didn't know about that site.



    Anyone ask the great web wizards here at AI for the stats on their surfers? I am surely curious to find out who comes here using which browser.

    I'd bet IE is tops, and it's because all you geeks out there are surfing at work--for shame!
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