Prompt's Blog
Microsoft exaggerates features of IE8
22 June 2009
Posted by James Gerber
Microsoft has made a great deal of improvements to its browser, mostly due to the innovations of other browsers like Firefox and Chrome which have been eating at its market share. It has become faster at loading pages, more add-ons and it has added helpful features like crash recovery and tab isolation to prevent the loss of data. There are a lot of good reasons to use Internet Explorer 8. For people that are buying new machines and haven’t already installed Firefox, there is also less of an incentive to install other browsers if IE gives the majority of the speed and functionality that most people are looking for.
But Microsoft has launched a smear campaign against Firefox and Chrome and released a data sheet comparing IE8 with Firefox and Chrome with numerous false statements. Webmonkey had a post breaking down all of Microsoft’s exaggerations.
Microsoft says it has superior privacy and that is not true. The fact is that as far as privacy is concerned, they are all about equal. IE8 does not support the amount of web standards that either other browser does. Its claim that it is faster than other browsers due to easier navigation is hilariously untrue, and browser speed tests all confirm that IE is slightly slower. It’s not very noticeable to the average user, but it’s a fact that Microsoft shouldn’t be addressing.
It’s a very strange move by the Redmond-based giant. The company has been trumpeting its increased focus on openness at the same time as it releases a document deriding open source browsers. What Microsoft should do is focus only on the benefits of users moving to IE8. It still is the dominant player in the market, and if it was able to convert the majority of its users from IE6 and 7 to 8, that would be a tremendous coup. Comparing it to other browsers and having its comparisons publicly mocked is not helping.
(Image from Webmonkey)
But Microsoft has launched a smear campaign against Firefox and Chrome and released a data sheet comparing IE8 with Firefox and Chrome with numerous false statements. Webmonkey had a post breaking down all of Microsoft’s exaggerations. Microsoft says it has superior privacy and that is not true. The fact is that as far as privacy is concerned, they are all about equal. IE8 does not support the amount of web standards that either other browser does. Its claim that it is faster than other browsers due to easier navigation is hilariously untrue, and browser speed tests all confirm that IE is slightly slower. It’s not very noticeable to the average user, but it’s a fact that Microsoft shouldn’t be addressing.
It’s a very strange move by the Redmond-based giant. The company has been trumpeting its increased focus on openness at the same time as it releases a document deriding open source browsers. What Microsoft should do is focus only on the benefits of users moving to IE8. It still is the dominant player in the market, and if it was able to convert the majority of its users from IE6 and 7 to 8, that would be a tremendous coup. Comparing it to other browsers and having its comparisons publicly mocked is not helping.
(Image from Webmonkey)
Labels: Chrome, Firefox, IE8, Internet Explorer, microsoft
Let's all help set a world record!
02 June 2008
Posted by James Gerber
Mozilla is asking people to pledge to download Firefox 3 on the date of its launch. The goal: to set a new world record (one that doesn't exist yet), certified by Guinness World Records.
This is a noble endeavor for several reasons. First, it would mean a world record for open source software. And what better way to have one than for everyone to come together as a community within a 24 hour period to set it? This is a great idea and I'm excited to see what it will mean for open source.
This is a noble endeavor for several reasons. First, it would mean a world record for open source software. And what better way to have one than for everyone to come together as a community within a 24 hour period to set it? This is a great idea and I'm excited to see what it will mean for open source. You wouldn't see this happening for a Microsoft product. Firefox is the best browser out there, and Firefox 3 is poised to be nine times faster than Internet Explorer 7. Nine times!
Labels: Firefox, Guinness World Records, Internet Explorer, Poland