Why So Much Hate for Internet Explorer?

I do a lot of searches for solutions to problems I encounter while fixing customer’s computer problems.  Almost everywhere you can read about how your computer skills are directly related to whether or not you use Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Google Chrome as your primary browser.  Every tech savvy intelligent person I know scoffs at anyone who still uses IE.  Well im here to say that IE will and continues to be my primary browser choice for daily browsing.

Are we done snickering?  When you can get over your elitist attitude about browsers you should read on.

I still have Firefox and Chrome installed on my system and I use all three for various reasons.  Mostly so that I’m comfortable with how each one works so I can fix them when they break.  And they break plenty.  Maybe not as much as IE but Firefox and Chrome have provided some decent headaches when troubleshooting problems.  Lets look at the small amount of traffic this blog has seen broken down by browser:

Internet Explorer	160	54.42%
Firefox	54	18.37%
Safari	31	10.54%
Mozilla Compatible Agent	30	10.20%
Chrome	18	6.12%

Not surprising to me but most cant understand why there are so many people who haven’t woken up in the browser wars and moved away from IE.  This is the issue web developers have with IE.  Im no fool and I fully understand that IE probably has the worst support of browser standards.  Mozilla has even come out in a blog attacking IE stating that it is not a modern browser.  What does that mean?  Well basically there tons of specifications layed out by CSS3 and HTML5 which no browser 100% support.  Let me say that again.  No browser that currently exists supports 100% of the standards set forth by CSS3 and HTML5.  Microsofts retort to Mozilla’s claim.  But the best read is over at Ars Technica by Ryan Paul who paints a more truthful picture about both browsers shortcomings.

What does this all mean to the average user?  Absolutely nothing.  Any web developer would be a fool to not be compatible with IE.  If they weren’t they would be telling their clients that the majority of web users out there can access your site.  The only people all this browser mumbo jumbo really affects are the web developers.   Their headaches exist trying to keep their sites consistent across all browsers.  These issues would go away if only all browsers supported exactly the same subset of the specification.

But, Nik, this hasn’t answered why you still use IE.

Oh yeah, back to that.  I don’t care what browser supports what.  I would prefer one that meets the full standard but that is a future that wont exist.  My biggest complaint with Firefox and Chrome is their failure to meet the standards set forth by the platform they install on.  Why the hell does Firefox and Chrome not read my windows favorites folder for all my saved browser favorites.  No they each store their own secret list is some hidden file and folder inside the application data depending on which version of windows.  This is the most annoying thing ever as a computer service technician.  I hate having to remember where and how these superior browsers save their favorites so that I can transfer them to a new system.  IE is easy, copy the users profile folder and we get everything: Favorites, Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, Desktop, etc.  Which also brings up the point that those are the places you should be storing that information as well.  Not in some convoluted scheme devised by yourself that only you can figure out.  So to Firefox and Chrome: USE THE DAMN FAVORITES FOLDER!

When IE is not working, crashing, or having problems, do not take the advice of your friends and install Firefox or Chrome and forget about it.  So many times I’m told by customers they use “Birdfire” or “Google” because IE keeps crashing or doesnt work.  Here is an insider secret.  If IE crashes something is seriously wrong with your computer and probably should looked at by someone who can figure out why.  Sometimes it just a browser pluggin going awry.  This is not IE’s fault but is the fault of the pluggin.  A third party software vendor who failed at programming but still does it anyway.  Mostly though we are talking about a virus, spyware, or adware infection screwing with it.  This is why ignoring the issues is so bad.  Viruses these days don’t exist to crash servers and gain notoriety among their creators.  They are there to make money.  Some do it more underhanded then others.  Worst are the keyloggers which still log keys after you have moved on to Firefox and Chrome.  These are aimed at getting login info and identity data.  The rest are mostly just annoying causing pop-ups and re-directions.  Some of these I call features, because they send you to awesome websites you normally would never have found.  Lets face it, the only people who really use Firefox and Chrome in windows are people browsing the indecent websites and are afraid they will get an infection.

So yes I’m a happy IE user and IE9′s release will probably make me more happy.  Does it make me a novice?  Maybe to Anti-Microsoft Fan Boys who jump on a band-wagon for fear of judgment by their peers.  Ive comfortably used windows since windows 3.1 and while it has had its problems and issues in each release I would argue that the majority of the hatred for Windows and Internet Explorer stems from User Error.