Question for the board regarding Explorer vs. Safari

Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
I know a lot of websites out there are geared toward compatibility for IE users, but that Safari and others have made great gains in years past.



I have somewhat of a strange question regarding the capabilities of Safari vs. Explorer that I encountered recently on a visit to Continental Airlines website (maybe some of you have noticed the same thing). When trying to search flights for any given destinations, IE users will see an animated graphic that activates while the results are gathered but Safari users (at least those on 3.0.4) do not see this animation.



Is this simply a plug-in issue that is native to IE users and not Safari, Firefox, etc?



Thanks!

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    mr. memr. me Posts: 3,221member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 2112 View Post


    ...



    Is this simply a plug-in issue that is native to IE users and not Safari, Firefox, etc?



    ...



    You can view the source in each browser to see for yourself.
  • Reply 2 of 11
    21122112 Posts: 36member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr. Me View Post


    You can view the source in each browser to see for yourself.



    Yeah, not really sure what that means though.
  • Reply 3 of 11
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 2112 View Post


    Yeah, not really sure what that means though.



    It means you can see the web page's code itself. From there you could browse where the animation code would be and see if they complied to the existing web standards or if they're using some hack or trick that only IE would read.



    It's true that websites are typically geared for IE, but IE doesn't follow the world wide standards that were set for web design. IE uses hacks and tweaks. And since it's the most widely used browser for absolutely no other reason than people don't know any better, web designers write their code to match IE. Breaking those standards in the process. These hacks are what made IE so insecure in the first place.



    At the moment the Safari web browser is the browser that follows the standards the most closely. Followed by Firefox, Camino, Opera, and a very distant IE. So chances are if the animation works in IE but not Safari, it's an IE specific tweak in the web page's code.
  • Reply 4 of 11
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Synthetic Frost View Post


    It means you can see the web page's code itself. From there you could browse where the animation code would be and see if they complied to the existing web standards or if they're using some hack or trick that only IE would read.



    It's true that websites are typically geared for IE, but IE doesn't follow the world wide standards that were set for web design. IE uses hacks and tweaks. And since it's the most widely used browser for absolutely no other reason than people don't know any better, web designers write their code to match IE. Breaking those standards in the process. These hacks are what made IE so insecure in the first place.



    At the moment the Safari web browser is the browser that follows the standards the most closely. Followed by Firefox, Camino, Opera, and a very distant IE. So chances are if the animation works in IE but not Safari, it's an IE specific tweak in the web page's code.



    excellent response - thank you
  • Reply 5 of 11
    Is there even a current IE for the Mac? I thought Microsoft stopped supporting it for the Mac sometime back?
  • Reply 6 of 11
    lundylundy Posts: 4,466member
    IE 5 for Mac isn't supported.



    The thing to do when you come across a website that does not perform correctly with Safari is to email the Customer Service link on the website and let them know that you cannot buy the product.



    I just recently did this with Delta Air Lines and they have now fixed their code.



    What happens is that clueless web designers who think everyone has Windows with IE put in Windows-specific crap that is not W3C compliant. And with Safari for Windows now available, there is no excuse for them not at least testing their code on Safari. Of course, the best thing for them to do is to write W3C compliant code in the first place, but testing is better than nothing.



    If you title your email "Can't Buy" the product, that will get their attention. No need to rant about how many millions are using Safari - just say you have a Mac with Safari 3 and it won't let you buy the product.



    I have also seen this work with a couple of other sites. Eventually they will start asking their idiot web designers about it before they get the job.
  • Reply 7 of 11
    mr. memr. me Posts: 3,221member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by lundy View Post


    IE 5 for Mac isn't supported.



    ...



    Not only is it not supported, but IE:mac has also quickly become the least compatible browser out there. It still runs on PPC-based Macs, but it no longer works with certain plug-ins (like Flash) or with certain websites.
  • Reply 8 of 11
    hirohiro Posts: 2,663member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 2112 View Post


    I know a lot of websites out there are geared toward compatibility for IE users, but that Safari and others have made great gains in years past.



    I have somewhat of a strange question regarding the capabilities of Safari vs. Explorer that I encountered recently on a visit to Continental Airlines website (maybe some of you have noticed the same thing). When trying to search flights for any given destinations, IE users will see an animated graphic that activates while the results are gathered but Safari users (at least those on 3.0.4) do not see this animation.



    Is this simply a plug-in issue that is native to IE users and not Safari, Firefox, etc?



    Thanks!



    It probably means the website used a MS ActiveX bit of code to do the animation. That means MS proprietary. MS still does stuff like this to be able to pitch their "superior user experience" and "ease of coding" as a lock-in combined with their server packages.
  • Reply 9 of 11
    21122112 Posts: 36member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Hiro View Post


    It probably means the website used a MS ActiveX bit of code to do the animation. That means MS proprietary. MS still does stuff like this to be able to pitch their "superior user experience" and "ease of coding" as a lock-in combined with their server packages.



    That makes sense. I probably should clarify something, In my original post I am talking about using Safari on a Mac and IE on a PC.
  • Reply 10 of 11
    hirohiro Posts: 2,663member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 2112 View Post


    That makes sense. I probably should clarify something, In my original post I am talking about using Safari on a Mac and IE on a PC.





    That's what I assumed since IE:Mac is ancient history.
  • Reply 11 of 11
    I nkow what you mean, I'm not sure about that but i definetlly notice differences in what IE can do that safari cannot do. If you are not sattisfied use Firefox, its just as good
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