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Comment by martin_bech | Hacker News Reader

I actually kinda like the ad, because the guy could be me in a heartbeat, i even own the same keyboard xD.

However the hate in me burns with the power of a thousand sons, when it comes to IE. The almost constant changes of MS standards with each new version of IE, inevitably breaks something, and will often require separate CSS styling..

And dont get me started on maintaining an app, that was built on IE6..

If I was in a room with Hitler, Osama bin Laden and the devlead for IE6, and had a gun with only 2 bullets.. I would shoot the IE6 lead twice..

That said and done, i really hope they start to embrace the "real" standards, as the the new development team proclaims.

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At least give Microsoft credit: IE10 is a modern, standards-compliant browser. And, you know, IE6 was actually the best web browser out there for a long time.

It was, though it was also designed with Embrace, Extend, Extinguish in mind. ActiveX anybody?

NaCl anybody?

I see that mostly as a crutch to let you use a Chromebook as something closer to a real computer. It hasn't been pushed in nearly the same way that ActiveX was.

> At least give Microsoft credit: IE10 is a modern, standards-compliant browser.

For how long? Hell, we know microsoft will have to be pushed kicking and screaming into supporting WebGL (and likely the fullscreen API as well as they go hand-in-hand), and they've just proposed their alternative to WebRTC (how not unexpected). See also: their proposing a brand new touch API, but not implementing the one which everybody is already using and the current standard.

> And, you know, IE6 was actually the best web browser out there for a long time.

IE5/Mac says "bitch, please". Also Phoenix was already a better browser than IE6 about 2 years after the latter's release.

> supporting WebGL

I think it's reasonable they might implement it on top of DirectX and then tell us how much faster it is.

> likely the fullscreen API as well as they go hand-in-hand

Why does Metro IE need the fullscreen API? Pointer lock maybe, but what's the use of going fullscreen in a fullscreen browser?

> I think it's reasonable they might implement it on top of DirectX and then tell us how much faster it is.

I'm not aware of their even planning to do it.

> Why does Metro IE need the fullscreen API?

1. IE is also available in desktop mode

2. The fullscreen API allows making a given element of the page, such as a video or a canvas, fullscreen. Not just remove the browser chrome

3. Even if the API was a noop in a chromeless browser — which it is not — it can be implemented as a noop for compatibility

4. Fullscreen web application may benefit from disabling e.g. some of the built-in gestures where that makes sense

Oh, I'm well aware of the other benefits of the Fullscreen API. But I still don't see much need for it, I think Pointer Lock is far more important here.

"I would shoot the IE6 lead twice.."

That's a little bit harsh, isn't it? While I would never defend it's usage today, it wasn't that horrible at the time it was released.

However, as Microsoft decided to kill off development it soon grew too old for it's own good.

> While I would never defend it's usage today, it wasn't that horrible at the time it was released.

It wasn't exactly good either, IE5/Mac was better on many fronts, and released at least a year before.

> While I would never defend it's usage today, it wasn't that horrible at the time it was released.

I think it was bad even considering that it was released in 2001. Not supporting PNG alpha channel is just an example.

But I do agree that Microsoft taking so long to release IE7 made things even worse.

The issue with Microsoft can be entirely explained by this sentence: "While I would never defend it's usage today, it wasn't that horrible at the time it was released."

Windows Update has been reasonably coherent since Windows XP. They've had the ability to push out software for a long, long time. Why isn't every person using Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8 currently using Internet Explorer 10?

The issue at hand isn't that Internet Explorer 10 is bad. It's not! It's a great browser.

The issue is that Microsoft doesn't care about providing an ecosystem that protects people from legacy browser lock-in. They have the ability to transition tens of millions of users to a modern browser. But they haven't, and they won't. Actions speak louder than words. Or perhaps, in this case, inaction speaks louder than words. Until they join the rest of the browser vendors in the 21st century, they're simply not worth trusting.

a thousand sons? Man, you must have been bizE!!

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