I’m not normally one to protest so distastefully but Microsoft’s last move has really pissed me off. Apparently, their new devil-child, IE8, beats Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome in areas such as “Reliability”, “Compatibility” and “Developer Tools”; at least, according to this chart (IMG)!
Apparently IE8 considers itself more secure and easier to use than other browsers too!
I can’t even begin to express my absolute opposition to every speck of misinformation on that chart. How dare Microsoft mislead consumers to such a degree – I know they put financial superiority and their monopoly above all other human values but this doesn’t excuse their flagrant disregard of their customers’ intelligence.
Consumerism is only good for one thing in my opinion – creating arrogant, possibly corrupt and more annoyingly, ignorant individuals. The people running Microsoft and the various departments involved must either be unquestionable morons or just so manipulated by the culture of consumerism, personified solely by that retched corporation, that they are beyond help!
In the past I’ve been quite calm and civilian in my dealings with the atrocity known by some only as “IE”, but now I feel a new spark of anger has been born; Microsoft has forever lost my respect and confidence in the prospect of change.
I know, I know! Marketing and advertising, it’s all about lies, spin and manipulation… But, that doesn’t mean it’s right, and yes, there is room in our capitalist cultures for honesty.
I want to have a long and hard chat with the heads of the IE team; I’d love to hear their twisted take on reality – maybe one of them could shed some light on the unacceptable marketing drivel that’s been circling the net, which, by the way, not only includes the chart I mentioned, but check this out! Yes, not only are Microsoft capable of releasing lies in the form of propaganda but they’ve also developed a system that will insult the browser you’ve chosen to use unless, of course, you’re using Internet Explorer, but then why would you?
The marketing team responsible for the latest scam should publicly apologize and then be permanently banned from every touching (or speaking about) anything remotely related to technology again!
It’s fair enough when Microsoft slam their own previous products but attacking Google Chrome and more shockingly, Mozilla Firefox, is way below the belt!
This makes me proud to offer 5 times the money & devotion to Apple (and Mozilla).
SAME HERE
This one made me laugh.
What’s actually more scary is that I’ve worked with some web developers who believe this type of crap.
I think advertising should be about saying how good your product is, not putting down the other guy’s warez. Apple did this long before MS with their Mac ads.
Yeah, what MS doing is bad, but it’s no worse than what Apple is doing and, so far as I can tell, nobody has called them out on it.
I remember one of their “I’m a Mac” ads that had the two ‘computers’ still in their boxes, having just been brought home. The Mac was going to go make a movie straight away while the PC was having to do updates and installs. The last person I knew who bought a G5 had to leave it in his lounge turned off for three days so that it could acclimatise to his house. He forgot to do that and the screen filled up with moisture.
So yeah, that’s bad of MS, but they’re not the first, or the worst.
@Shane – let me guess. .NET developers?
I have to agree with Rick, Microsoft really isn’t that bad when compared to other companies. However, that chart is total marketing bs.
What do you expect?
Alot of peopel AREN’T nearly as intelligent to understand all this, from all ages. They read it and think “great, let’s get it!”
Having said that, directly attacking other companies products voilates some sort of law, I’m sure.
Well, this whole campaign and that chart just stinks of immaturity and childishness. It feels like a campaign influenced by those anti-pc mac adverts.
A better ploy would be for them to say we are very fucking sorry for all the heartache we have and still are causing you due to ie 6.
IE8 Beta’s javascript engine was completely broken when i received it, making it pretty much useless for testing. But i did notice that if the HTML markup had any errors whatsoever CSS :hover wouldn’t work. Strange. Testing IE8 Beta just made me think of how much trouble this browser causes no matter what version your dealing with. Plus it’s just about the slowest “new” browser that exists.
Folks, when you talk about attacking other products, did you see these?
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/ie.html
http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/firefox/#feature-vsie
(notice the european one has slightly more aggressive text that is at least as meaningless as the stuff in the IE table)
Good post. With you on this. And what Microsoft should understand is a meaningless direct attack like this won’t help them out of the blues, until they improve IE performance. For me, Chrome is much faster than IE.
Hey the internet explorer 6 or 7 is not “tarnished” or “Old” !!!!! If you happen to check the http://www.microsoft.com/australia/ie8/competition/ link on IE 6 or 7, you will find that they don’t use those words. IE 6 in not OLD !!!!!!! Makes me flip my wig. IE 6 is the most horrible piece of Microsoft Technology which we web designers have to face everyday.
Microsoft is EVIL !!!!
Don’t worry about them…no one believe what they say
@Eric – good guess, yes. A lot of .NET guys I’ve worked with seem to be entrenched in the world of Microsoft. I don’t think it pays to be biased to any technology provider or technology – keep an open mind and you’ll be in the best position to make an informed decision.
The reason why this is different to the Mac adverts is that Apple were pointing out things that were clearly better on a Mac (such as the editing of movies in iMovie as soon as you open the box), whereas in this table Microsoft are claiming things are better on IE when they aren’t.
I am particularly amused at the “developer tools” section, as if developers don’t know how to install the plugins like Firebug and WDT… The reality for Microsoft is IE only ticks one box: it is useful for enterprises so they can lock-down the browser. Firefox are just as bad for their comparison.
Basically what this boils down to is:
If you want speed, on a Mac use Safari 4, on a PC use Chrome.
If you want extensibility, use Firefox.
If you are an enterprise, use IE8.
Simple.
So how should Microsoft get their act together for IE9?
1. Implement Webkit, there is no reason for them to have an in-house rendering engine, none at all. Webkit has always been the leader in new CSS technologies and whatnot.
2. Build a plugin engine which will work cross-platform with Firefox’s extensions, or failing that – ask the W3C to develop a spec for plugins and become an active partner in the spec.
3. Admit that IE6/7/8 are useless, and encourage all windows users to upgrade.
Imagine if IE, Safari, Opera and Firefox all used Webkit… websites would look exactly the same across EVERY browser – they can all push for innovation collectively – it would become the greatest partnership of all time.
Just to prove this is absolute bullshit I conducted a series of tests on my own, the results can be viewed here : http://www.yorickpeterse.com/downloads/dump/browser_test.xls
Who’s the slowest ? Ofcourse, Internet Explorer 8
I also wrote about this here
But that comparision table is real! Is not full of bullshit like MS table is
@Ryan, Microsoft will NEVER use webkit because it’s an apple technology.
James,
Microsoft has put together a rational, coherent explanation as to why they feel their browser is superior.
Maybe you could do the same and explain exactly why you feel their’s isn’t — rather than just ranting.
) I’d personally like to see the reasons against Microsoft’s position.
Thank you.
@Louis, just read my blog post (i put a link in my previous comment) and you will see there some “WHY’s”
Thanks for the comments! There’s some very interesting points of discussion emerging here!
@Rick, I don’t think Apple are being quite as dishonest as Microsoft. Although, I must say, I’m sick of both of them!
@Live-Dimension, I would’ve thought this is classed as libel (perhaps “slander”, but I’m no lawyer.
@9words, Amen to your last statement! I’m sick of people listing off all these new features in IE8 when it actually sucks almost as much as IE6. I’d prefer if they’d all use IE7 (Obviously, if I had a choice I’d switch them all to FF!).
@Pete, even from my slightly (very?) subjective viewpoint, Mozilla is no where near as nasty as Microsoft – plus I think the fact that Mozilla is an open-source organisation makes it okay.
@Anoop, I think they’re lost for ideas so have resorted to the lowest common denominator in marketing – slamming the competition.
@Shane, Microsoft aren’t happy owning the hearts of many developers (.NET) and corporations; they also have to go after Joe Bloggs and his browser
@Ryan, I agree, there is a key difference – Microsoft is lying while Apple is just being playfully competitive. … All browsers using WebKit – that would be fantastic! I wish Microsoft would, for once, see above and beyond their own financial desires and do something for the good of the consumers.
@Yorick, no surprises there!
@Evan, As far as I know, WebKit is not affiliated directly with Apple… If it was I doubt Adobe would be using it (in Adobe Air).
@Louis,
Coherant? … Perhaps.
Rational? Certainly not!
It’s as simple as this – Microsoft is misleading their own customers. I can’t believe you’re taking them seriously! It’s obviously just marketing drivel worded specifically to coerce unsuspecting consumers into a decision. IE is simply, by comparison, a crap browser. The amount of grief its caused developers the world over is enough evidence to convince me of this. And their latest stunt simply affirms what many developers think of Microsoft.
But if Webkit became the only used rendering engine, then would the lack of competition lead to a stale product? Or would vendors push it themselves?
@Ryan … If I remember right, older versions of Windows simply cannot run IE7. I’m not sure if the cut off is Win98 or Win2k, but either way there’s a lot of businesses out there (usually non IT businesses) that’re running such old OSs on all their machines.
And you can’t really blame them either… Say there’s a law firm with a hundred computers… now their IT guy didn’t see the need to upgrade all those machines from Win2k to XP, then Vista came around and he simply said No… and now he has to justify replacing a hundred computers during a recession. Sure they need replacing, but the folks at the top of the food chain with the money will always try to keep hold of it.
I also find it funny that last I heard MS no longer supports XP, but is bundling it with Windows 7, and offering a downgrade package from Windows 7 to XP.
Rather than hating on Microsoft, why don’t you disprove Microsoft’s comparison? That’s right!
IE8 is pretty poor – I normally have to start it up several times before it will actually even connect to my homepage WTF???
However, the new developer tools in IE8 are pretty good and very much welcome. The same cannot be said for Firefox and Firebug which I’m finding are incredibly buggy, to the point where they are unusable – I find the source window repainting is poor and jittery, and hitting a breakpoint forces the window to scroll to the top every time. Not everyone is experiencing these issues I know. However, it’s not a local problem as I know some others are having the same woes.
For me, Chrome is leading the way on the browser front, it now just needs some decent dev tools.
Developers are going to be biased towards particular browser features. As developers, we need to realize that we are not the center of the universe — the users are! Microsoft knows this, and that is who they are targeting. I have not seen any reason to believe that IE8 is not very comparable to Chrome and FF across *all* features — not just those that we as developers feel should be the only things discussed.
True, maybe Chrome is faster, and maybe FF is better from a developer standpoint. But unless someone puts together a detailed explanation showing why IE8 is vastly inferior in all areas, then I’ll just go by what I personally experience, and what can be substantiated.
I just don’t believe that Microsoft would blatantly lie. I mean, come on, guys, that is just ridiculous to even suggest. They’re obviously going to be biased towards their own browser. Who wouldn’t be? I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume that IE8’s features are competitive with the other browsers, and maybe they’ve been embellished by Microsoft on that chart.
@brandon, does it really need disproving?
@Gregg, the new (beta) version of Firebug is quite buggy, but then beta versions are expected to be buggy.
@Loius, your point is fair – we are not the centre of the universe and Microsoft are not really targeting us at all…
Like everyone else in today’s consumer society I’m used to having adverts constantly shoved in my face; most of them are full of garbage – taglines, images, discounts – all to make you feel more special as a consumer and to make you want to buy these items – these adverts are designed, specifically, to make the cost of going to the store (or online) and purchasing this product worth it.
With browsers, it’s even easier for the marketeers, or perhaps it’s harder. Browsers are free – the cost to the consumer of downloading/updating their browser is minimal (it only costs time) so it doesn’t take a lot of effort to make them do so. Microsoft have a monopoly in the technology world and they’re brand is massively trusted as a result. This has benefited them on multiple fronts (the browser-war included).
Something people need to realise about Microsoft is what they really care about;
– They don’t care about us or the average consumer.
– They care about their monopoly and their money.
Maybe they didn’t lie… maybe you can call it “bending the truth“, but essentially, it’s all the same! Microsoft have just gotten away with misleading the public, again… That chart is specifically designed to make it seem like the other browsers suck and that Microsoft have had their development teams in full throttle developing this awesome new browser. Mr Average landing on that page (with the chart) is going to come off thinking IE8 is the best browser in the world and there isn’t an ounce of competition.
So I guess I’m not really/only against Microsoft – I’m generally against the methods used to market products… in fact, I’m totally sick of it.
Words cannot describe how I felt when I first saw that chart. I can’t even sigh anymore.
I understand your anger, but you have to understand that this is basically part of a war going on. It’s quite pathetic, but that’s just the way of things.
Want to solve this problem? Find a way to yank the support pillars from the foundations of their order and watch them flop around trying to regain their stability. Do so repeatedly and laugh at each of their attempts. Keep laughing and undermining until their spirits or their bodies break, and then squeeze off a turd on their grave afterwards and enjoy being one step closer to pure anarchy.
Whoops, sorry. Squeezed off my own little turd of a rant just there.
But seriously. Short of complete moral nihilism, what can we really do about the inherent hypocrisy of these fumbling pride-mongers warring between one another, anyway? Except either hide away or join in the fray in some creative way, alas.
Anyone who builds anything in any IE browser will come to terms with the reality that the web app or web site will…be screwed up in some way or form. Even IE8 needs improvement and IE6 is trash. But I still develop for it because I know there are people who use it, IE beating all browsers in all positions? Don’t make me laugh, I work with Safari, Firefox, Opera, and IE, which browser do you think pisses me off the most (Hint, it starts with an I).
I’m pretty sure Firefox is the most secure and Safari parses JavaScript like cake. There’s a reason I generally don’t touch IE for anything other than development, once I found Firefox I was in heaven.
It’s a nice fantasy for MS to join the world and I wish they would, but they always have to do things their way. I’m not saying they don’t work hard on it because coding is hard work, but I’m saying it needs innovation and it needs to be realistic in any type or browser comparison. I’d think twice about declaring IE better than any browser in anything, perhaps a field or two and not much more.
I think IE8 and 7 are improvements over IE6 (I think)… But yes, it seems Microsoft has reacted to there loss in browser market share with many campaigns pushing IE8.
Ironically, I didn’t notice much push for IE8 till shortly after I launched my own campaign… Death To IE6 (http://deathtoie6.com)
Install this on your sites and lets get ride of IE6 for good, at least!
their* (sorry, I always do that)
rid*
I think IE8 and 7 are improvements over IE6 (I think)… But yes, it seems Microsoft has reacted to their loss in browser market share with many campaigns pushing IE8.
Ironically, I didn’t notice much push for IE8 until shortly after I launched my own campaign… Death To IE6 (http://deathtoie6.com)
Install this on your sites and lets at least get rid of IE6 for good!
It causes a javascript alert to display for IE6 users explaining they need to upgrade and redirects to a page helping them upgrade to a better browser.
I think a few of the commentors have lost focus with what the original blog post is about: Microsoft blatantly misleading the public on how their browser stacks up against the competition. No matter how you look at it that chart can only be considered an intentional effort to mislead anyone who views it into thinking that Internet Explorer is the superior web browser. At the very least their logic is laughable. At worst it holds the web back by keeping an inferior product between the developers who are moving the web forward and users who don’t realize their browser is limiting their online experience.
Fortunately Microsoft’s marketing efforts seem to be wasted as their marketshare continues to spiral downward and the “inferior browsers” they supposedly outclass continue to innovate and widen the gap in terms of browser functionality while simultaneously closing IE’s lead in marketshare. Looks like the general public has the common sense enough to dismiss propaganda like this and choose the superior products.
(I also find it amusing that Apple’s commercial attacking Vista applies here. Instead of fixing their product (in this case IE) they throw lots of marketing dollars at it instead).