Internet Explorer 7: Another Loser from Microsoft

August 2006

The rumors appear to be true. Microsoft's new web browser, IE7, will be only slightly more standards compliant than IE6. Slightly...and IE6 is a rag. Jeff Reifman (he authors web pages) gives IE7 a standards rating of 54%. IE6 gets 52%. Gee, Microsoft, you really knocked yourselves out to steam your way up another two per cent. In contrast, Reifman gives Firefox a rating of 93%.

There is additional support for Reifman's appraisal. It comes from Microsoft. They admit that IE7 will not pass the Acid2 browser-compliance test. Acid2 is a cleverly coded page that displays a goofy happy face if the web browser complies to standards. Briefly listed, the code tests for PNG transparency, object elements, positioning (absolute, relative and fixed), the box model, CSS tables, margins, generated content, CSS parsing, paint order, line heights and hovering effects. Web developers have been clamoring for implementation of many of these features. Microsoft had the opportunity to get it right, improve the web experience, and dominate the browser market with IE7. But, no. Is it any wonder that people who use Firefox are loathe to return to Internet Explorer?

What is a wonder is why Microsoft is unwilling to create a standards compliant web browser. It's not whether they can -- of course they can. But they don't. Microsoft excuses itself on the grounds of "backward compatibility" issues. Give us a break. The only thing backward here is Microsoft's insistence on using proprietary functions. If backward compatibility were an issue, then standards-compliant Firefox would be displaying a mess on our monitors. But it isn't. The only handicap that Firefox has is that web authors have to dumb-down their code so that the Microsoft browser doesn't choke. That means that Firefox, and web authors, don't get to show their potential. And people who use the web don't get to see the web's potential.

I think we'll see how concerned about backward compatibility Microsoft really is when they release Vista, their next operating system. Who wants to bet that some of their current software and drivers won't work with Vista? Right. I think the compatibility bit is a lame excuse for not doing the job right. I give IE7 a TP Rating of four rolls.