|
midrange.com
> So quite the opposite - I don't want to see "Vanilla HTML". I want to be
> able to code using modern XHTML and CSS, and I don't want to be
> surprised when I see how my document is rendered (or mangled) by IE. I
> think the biggest impediment right now to more widespread usage of CSS
> is the poor support by IE.
Amen. As I said, we're not going to worry about aesthetics NN 4.x anymore.
Anyone using it is probably getting used to seeing all the text in Times
New Roman, not seeing table background colors, etc. But my site has to be
*functional* for them. XHTML and CSS gives me that. If I can't use CSS
for positioning, oh well.
Furthermore, IE may be the standard now, but will it always be? I'd rather
not code to support the flavor of the week if I can avoid it. Who knows
what the future will bring? Shoot, I'm as worried about the *form factor*
changing as anything. I know I can build a site that looks great on an 17"
monitor, but can I make that *same site* work on a PDA? On a mobile phone?
I cannot maintain multiple copies of a site for different devices.
> Cheers! Hans
> PS. The one feature I'd love to see in a browser is the ability to block
> Flash animations by domain name.
Amen again!
Mike E.
Hans Boldt
<boldt@xxxxxxxxxx> To:
midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent by: cc:
midrange-l-bounces@m Subject: Re: IBM Web support
idrange.com
12/03/2003 09:18 AM
Please respond to
Midrange Systems
Technical Discussion
Jon Paris wrote:
> >> Second, does it make sense for any business to write off 7% (or more)
of
> its potential customers? Sure, some can afford to. But 7% may very well
give
> another business that competitive edge.
>
> Much as I hate the IE situation Hans - Yes - it does make sense.
>
> First of all, chances are your target audience _are_ using IE. Folks
such
> as yourself may not be in the target Mom and Pop audience anyway.
>
> Secondly, the 7% aren't all using the same browser! That number is
spread
> all over the range of alternates form Notes, to Opera to multiple flavors
of
> Netscape etc. So the question really is can a business afford the extra
> effort to make their site compatible for all browsers.
>
> You can write vanilla HTML but your site will not be as attractive as
your
> competitors - so you may lose business. If you make the HTML compatible
on
> a browser by browser basis it adds a lot to the cost of
> developing/maintaining the site that you are not likely to recoup by the
> small portion of the 7% that each set of changes will bring. And of
course
> you have made the code less reliable with all the conditional muck that
you
> have to put in.
>
> I try to avoid features on my site that I know will cause problems for
non
> IE sites - but the cost of ensuring that it works for everybody exceeds
the
> potential benefit.
>
Jon: First, one other poster already pointed out that one of their
largest clients is still on NS4, and that they're hardly in a position
to make them see the light and upgrade.
That said, NS4 and IE4 usage tends to be buried within the error bars of
most usage surveys. If NS4 and IE4 aren't already irrelevant now, they
soon will be. In my opinion, unless you still have a large part of your
business dependent on one of those browsers, there's little sense in
targetting to them.
No, I'm not at all advocating that HTML coders code to the older
browsers. But these days, the problem with browser compatibility is not
the irrelevant NS4 - it's the IE5 and IE6 browsers that are now the
"lowest common denominator". And the maintainers of the IE browser have
little motivation to bring it up to more modern standards.
So quite the opposite - I don't want to see "Vanilla HTML". I want to be
able to code using modern XHTML and CSS, and I don't want to be
surprised when I see how my document is rendered (or mangled) by IE. I
think the biggest impediment right now to more widespread usage of CSS
is the poor support by IE.
Cheers! Hans
PS. The one feature I'd love to see in a browser is the ability to block
Flash animations by domain name.
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