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Weblog:   Is IE 7 a Firefox Killer?
Subject:   Availability
Date:   2005-09-15 12:08:52
From:   Villa
It's important to note that even if IE7 does deliver a more stable and feature-rich solution, it will only be available to Windows XP and Windows Vista users.
Windows XP may be the most populat OS out there, but it's not the only one. A large percentage of web users have Win2k or older, Linux, Mac, etc. IE7 is not available to any of those groups.
Another important point to consider is the fact that current Firefox users are not likely to switch back. Firefox has shown that it is way above IE in reliability and improvement. Microsoft is only reacting to pressure. You can have an OK browser with IE7, but Firefox will soon be much better.
I may sound like a zealot, but I am very interested in seeing what IE7 has to offer. I hope they improve the interface I saw on some previous screenshots. That was not very usable.
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  • Availability
    2005-09-16 10:41:16  Smolarek [Reply | View]

    "Another important point to consider is the fact that current Firefox users are not likely to switch back"

    The same was said with Netscape back 'in the day'. Competition is healthy in all markets so i hope we have lots of browsers on teh market but lets just pray they are all standards complient and all render the same (ha!).
    • Availability
      2005-09-17 20:08:47  mogmios [Reply | View]

      Personally, I've begun to leave IE behind in my website designs. I give a basic compatibility by making sure IE doesn't misuse my advanced features to horrible result but I don't hold back from creating more advanced inerfaces for browsers that can support them or try to compensate by making an 'as advanced as IE can handle' version of the interface. IE gets pretty much the same thing Lynx does.

      Also I've begun advertising this fact on my websites with a "see what you're missing!" page that offers screenshots of the advanced interfaces and a link to download Firefox. People are lazy but if you make them know what they're missing then you can get most of them to switch. (Especially since the alternative is free and easy to install.)

      No longer am I going to put up with ignoring the possibilities just because they don't work in IE.

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