WHICH BROWSER DO you use when you surf the ‘Net? Chances are, it’s Internet Explorer, because most of us use Windows, and this browser comes bundled with Microsoft’s operating system. Here’s a breakdown of browser usage all over the world (Jan.-Feb.2008 figures. Source: TechCrunch):

Internet Explorer (“IE”) is now on version 7. And I must say––without prejudice against the other browsers––it’s a huge improvement over its previous release. But there’s a problem here: too many people are still using Interne Explorer 6 (“IE6”). If you take a look at the table above, more than a fifth of Internet users around the world are still stuck at version 6.

Why is this a problem? Well, my dear readers, it’s causing tremendous stress among Webmasters and Web applications developers across the globe. As if compatibility across different browser brands weren’t enough of a headache, IE6, in spite of its being a Jurassic piece of digital flotsam, is still in fact a major consideration when developers design Web sites.

When viewing Web pages, most people aren’t aware of the copious amount of work put into them in order to ensure that they look and behave the same way no matter what browser was used. Truth is, we could really do away with the extra hours of development time necessary to correct for browser incompatibility. To give you an idea: if Web designers didn’t allow for the various ways that the different browsers display sites, it would be mayhem. For example, a site’s layout could look fine in Firefox, but would be ruined in Safari (the Mac’s rather disappointing excuse for a Web browser). IE6 is special: it will always ruin Web site layouts.

You see, IE6 (which is not supported by Microsoft anymore) is so outdated that it does not have the capability to run the programs that enable the Web’s myriad functionalities. But since a sizable number of ‘Net surfers are still unimaginably hooked on IE6, Web developers are hostages to their own obsessive-compulsiveness.

Save the developers! Help keep them sane. Please, upgrade your browsers to IE7 as soon as humanly possible, or try a Mozilla-based browser for a change. This image is from SaveTheDevelopers.org –– seriously. That site is dedicated to “making the Web a better place for developers (and thus for users as well).”

With IE6 gone and finally retired, developers will finally be able to release their hidden talents, and you’ll soon see the real power in Web 2.0.

To my developer readers out there: head on to that Web site and join the movement!

[Reposted from The Edge Davao, 31 March 2008]