New Year, New Browser. Boycott IE6

If you are still searching for a New Year’s resolution, try this one on for size: dump Internet Explorer 6. Not only will you see (blogged) shouts of joy, you’ll be looking out for your own computing safety and increasing the efficiency of millions of programmers around the world. The scoop:

• IE6 was released in 2001 but fails to even properly support the CSS 1.0 standard from 1996.
• IE6 prevents the rest of the world from experiencing the full potential of new features and technology associated with up-to-date browsers
• The extra coding programmers are forced to develop for working around IE6 wastes time and potential
• IE6 is a security risk, leaving you vulnerable to viruses, trojans, phishing attacks and other unwanted headaches

There is no legitimate reason IE6 should be around anymore, yet as of December ’08, it still held roughly 20% of total browser market share. The grip is loosening, but it needs a final kick out of cyberspace. Upgrade to IE7 here, but its reviews aren’t exactly rave either. And within the year, IE8, now in beta version, should be complete and we’ll be programming for two obsolete browsers. GMail has recently stopped supporting IE6 on it’s lab features.

If you are shopping for an alternative, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome and Safari are all excellent browser choices, and free.