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posted

Jan. 31, 2010

time

3:07 p.m.

by

Sam

IE6 web browser
No longer supported

After several previous blog posts about Microsoft's Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) Omni are announcing, (along with Google), that we are phasing out support for this bug-plagued browser during the coming weeks.

It has been a long time coming but this dated and restrictive browser is finally coming to the end of its life. 

Sparked by recent and well publicised security breaches, which allowed the Gmail accounts of human rights activists to be hacked in China, Microsoft has been forced to admit that IE6 was in fact the weakest link and this lead to French and German governments both advising the public to change their web browser to combat the security issue.

Don't get me wrong, in its time IE6 certainly did the job but a lot has moved on in the last few years. Microsoft has already released updated versions of the browser in the form of IE7 and even IE8 but due to slow action in UK government departments to update their systems, the browser has been hanging on long after its shelf life.

Up to now, developers have found that they are having to restrict themselves, working around what IE6 lets you actually do online. This is slowing down the progression of the web as a whole in dealing with rich and diverse media. Hopefully this new shift will mean a more exciting, safer and less risky environment for web users and mean that developers can move forward into new and exciting online arenas.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8488751.stm

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