Internet Explorer
From Mac Guides
Internet Explorer (commonly abbreviated to IE) is a web browser developed by Microsoft. It used to be developed for Windows, Mac OS X, HP-UX and Solaris, but since the release of Safari, the Mac version is no longer developed. Microsoft ended support for the Mac version of Internet Explorer on December 31 2005, and it is no longer available for download as of January 31 2006. [1]
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Disadvantages and Criticism
Internet Explorer is criticized for various reasons, some of which are outlined below.
Security
One reason is the many security vulnerabilities in the Windows version of the browser, which is an entirely separate program from the Mac version with a different layout engine. Some people argue that Internet Explorer is no less secure than competing Windows browsers, but is just targeted more due to its large market share. Others argue that this is not true, that it is more vulnerable due to other reasons, such as its ActiveX support.
Standards compliance
Many Web developers criticize Internet Explorer's lack of standards compliance, which have earned it the nicknames "Internet Exploder" and "Internet Exploiter". The lack of standards compliance makes it harder to develop Web sites that work in both Windows Internet Explorer and other browsers.
On the other hand, Internet Explorer 5 for Mac, when first released, was recognized to have among the best standards support of browsers then available, but in recent times it has fallen behind due to its lack of support for newer Web technologies.
Feature set
The Mac version of Internet Explorer is no longer updated, and as such does not include many features popular in modern browsers, such as tabbed browsing and pop up blocking. The Windows version has also been criticized, with accusations that Microsoft avoided innovation due to IE's monopoly status. However, Microsoft has recently attempted to tackle the criticism, adding a pop up blocker with a Windows XP service pack and announcing that IE 7 would include tabbed browsing.
Monopoly status
Internet Explorer has a near monopoly in the Web browser market (although this has been slightly erroded recently due to the success of Firefox), with a market share of just under 90%. As a result, some Web developers prevent sites from loading in browsers other than Internet Explorer, usually because they do not have, or take, the time to test it in other browsers. Often, the sites would work flawlessly or at least acceptably in other browsers if this prevention was not in place. Some browsers, such as Safari and Opera, allow users to change the user agent string, which makes the browser appear as another. This can be used to bypass browser checks. To change the user agent in Safari, the Debug menu must be enabled, which is described in a section on the Safari page.
Users should note, however, that excessive use of faked user agent strings is not recommended. If too many users use this feature, Web developers will see skewed browser usage statistics, which could discourage them even more from developing their sites for other browsers. The feature should only be used on sites that need it, and an e-mail to these sites' owners could help encourage testing in other browsers.
Advantages
Protocol helpers
One convenent function offered in the Mac version of Internet Explorer is the ability to change the helper programs used by all browsers on the system. These are not the same mappings used by the Finder, and most other browsers lack a convenient way to alter them. This function can be found by running IE, choosing Preferences, then Protocol Helpers under the Network section.
There is also a preference pane called More Internet which can do many of the same things.
Links
- Internet Explorer 5 for Mac at Microsoft
- Tasman, the Mac IE layout engine (at Wikipedia)
- More Internet, a freeware prefpane to change protocol mappings
