How difficult is it to discard Internet Explorer?

How difficult is it to discard Internet Explorer?

Recent months have been terrible for Internet Explorer. There has been tons of bug and security flaw reported. So much so, many security agencies have started recommending people who surf online to shift to alternate browsers. And the move has been supported by the emergence of Firefox, which is just about to reach its first final release. But the move may not be as smooth as it seems.

As per reports, Internet Explorer still commands more than just a majority of the market share. Most sites report the share at more than 90%. That is a huge number which would take sometime to drop down to more reasonable levels. And the result of this huge gap between the users of Internet Explorer and other browsers is that, there are many important websites out there (including online banking websites), which are developed specifically keeping the IE users in mind. One of the primary reasons for these sites to be compatible just with Internet Explorer is the usage of proprietary technologies like ActiveX, which is only supported in IE out of the box.

Another major hurdle in moving on to other browsers is that Microsoft’s WindowsUpdate website which let users download patches for Microsoft related applications only works with Internet Explorer. This is almost ironical that to patch Internet Explorer, we have to use Internet Explorer to access the web! Also notable is the fact that most web developers just check their work in IE totally ignoring other browsers like Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and Safari. This can also result in less than perfect browsing experience in visiting the affected websites in browsers other than Internet Explorer. These issues cause confusion for general users who take this as a problem in alternate browsers and they switch back to Internet Explorer, nullifying the move completely.

So, what is the solution? Many things can be done. First and the most important is that Microsoft should be more prompt in releasing the updates to their browser and make them available to as many users as possible. Secondly, they should start supporting alternate browsers to access their WindowsUpdate website so that people who do not want to use Internet Explorer can also download the latest patches. Third, Web developers should start complying with web standards and stop using proprietary technologies that are not available to non-IE users. And the most important is awareness. Internet users should keep themselves updated with the latest developments. They should not delay updating the softwares (especially Microsoft Software that form integral part of the Operating System). In addition, they should complain to the developers of the websites that ignores alternate browsers all together.

All said and done, it is still very worthwhile to move on to alternate browsers and keep Internet Explorer as a backup for emergencies. The advantages are many. Both Mozilla Firefox and Opera are frequently updated fixing the bugs and security issues. They are feature packed to make browsing more fun. Both have tab browsing to keep clutter away from your desktop. Both support RSS, which keeps you updated with the latest news and information. Opera comes with an additional mail client, IRC Client and even a newsreader. Mozilla fulfills it with its Mozilla suite.

And of course, you have Internet Explorer lying around for those IE only websites.

Alternate browsers: Opera | Mozilla Firefox