IE Problems?

[Chris]

I'm logged in with IE which I've been told is giving people problems. I am unable to duplicate the experience on a Mac though.

The solution may simply be to use a Mozzila browser: http://www.mozilla.org/ which IMHO is superior anyway.

[Chris]

I found one possible cause and disabled it, maybe it will eliminate the IE problem. However, I encourage anyone using IE on a PC to try Firefox anyway. I think you'll find it improves all browser based performance.

[Funrover]

Still not working with IE, but the Mozilla is just fine, no clue why...

[Chris]

Did a bit of reading, pretty boring stuff but may be an explanation even though it leans to the "Microsoft is Evil" camp. This is pretty much the same as info found directly relating to vBulletin and IE problems. Unless you updated IE it still isn't a satisfactory explanation to me.

As many of you know, Microsoft has announced that it will be releasing Internet Explorer 7.0 this summer to those who are on the XP operating system in a project code named “Rincon”. The move is reportedly being done to improve the security of the IE browser. However, with browsers such as Firefox gaining market share, many people speculate that the new Internet Explorer will come with more than just security enhancements. Features such as tabbed browsing, built in anti-spyware, and RSS aggregating are all features that appear to be coming with the Rincon project.

The real question, however, for any website owner and developer is whether Microsoft will create a browser that interprets CSS2 in a standard way. Currently Microsoft does not support all of CSS2’s functionalities and also adds some functionalities that CSS2 never initially supported. The result is nothing more than a major headache for those developing a website that is accessible to all people, regardless of the browser they are using.

So will Microsoft finally adhere to the official CSS2 specifications? Don’t bet on it. A look at Microsoft’s history and their current position in the market place seems to point to the idea that they will continue to buck the open source development trend and try to mold the marketplace according to their vision.

Microsoft Views Incompatibility as a Competitive Advantage

Most website developers develop a website for Internet Explorer first, and for the secondary browsers second. The reason for this is obvious. If you have a website that works in Firefox, but appears broken in Internet Explorer, the site appears broken to over 90% of its visitors. On the flip side, if the site works fine in Internet Explorer, but not in Firefox, only a small percentage of your website visitors are inconvenienced.

Microsoft, being the vast market share holder in the browser market, can influence the behavior of website owners and web surfers. Because not every site is optimized for browsers such as Firefox, web surfers who try to make the transition to Firefox will find themselves on familiar sites that appear broken to them in Firefox, but not Internet Explorer because Internet Explorer does not follow a standard set of rules that any browser can comply with. The result is that these surfers who try to make the transition over to Firefox will go back to the more familiar Internet Explorer.

Keep the Advantage, Eliminate the Disadvantages

There are a few reasons for people making the switch from Internet Explorer to Firefox. There is the obvious group of people that truly believe Microsoft is evil, so they will do anything to avoid a Microsoft product no matter how much it inconveniences them. Microsoft is not worried about these people so much because they will always represent a small group of people. What Microsoft does need to worry about is the real advantages of making the switch to Firefox.

Security
Security is probably the top reason people make the switch to Firefox. Now that most people have been introduced to spyware, awareness of PC security is becoming a bigger issue. Any person who does a little research will quickly realize that most spyware programs focus on the vulnerabilities of Internet Explorer, since that is what most surfers use. Making the switch to Firefox not only gives surfers new security features that are not available with Internet Explorer, but they also remove themselves from the target of spyware creators.

Since security is the one of the biggest reasons people leave Internet Explorer, the people at Microsoft have decided to make security a major priority. And, in the interest of giving credit where credit is due, they should be commended for finally looking to improve the security of their browser. Who knows how many countless computers were infected with spyware programs due to the vulnerabilities Internet Explorer presented.

Features
Firefox also offers unique features that users cannot get with Internet Explorer. Features such as tabbed browsing, RSS Aggregation, and others have proven to be more than just nice ideas or some programmer’s pet hobby. Unfortunately for Firefox, they have proved to be the market testing for Microsoft, without Microsoft having to spend any money on development. Look for Microsoft to continue to copy the successful features of Firefox in the future, and ignore those features that are not successful.

[Chris]

:confused: Did I find it, is IE working okay now?

[Patrolman]

Nope. I finally got on with Firefox for now. Just tried IE. No go.

[Chris]

Did you delete your cache, cookies and reboot?

[KnuckleHead]

I'm in under Firefox. IE was still not working for me.

[Funrover]

Works under firefox for me so I am fine with that!

[Chris]

Is this still an issue for some folks?

[Patrolman]

Still not working on either machine here. When I thought it was machine specific, I tried to reboot, ran my Norton scan, cleaned the cookies. Did everything I knew. Haven't cleaned the cache. Firefox is working well. Can't complain too much.

[Chris]

I guess that's good but people shouldn't have to change their browser (even if Firefox is far superior to IE)

[Chris]

My host is having some trouble, hoping that's why some people experienced problems. I have also downloaded the latest update which will require shutting down the site to install. I'm not going to do this until I get out of the Moab Mood though. ;)