Google Brings SVG Support To IE 233
stelt writes "Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is in most graphical tools. It is used heavily in many big projects, such as KDE and Wikipedia. But Internet Explorer's lack of built-in support for SVG was keeping it away from mainstream use on the web. Google is fixing that now with a JavaScript drop-in named SVGWeb. They've posted a quick, one-minute overview, a longer and more detailed presentation, and you can read about it on the project page."
Incompatibility Problems (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Incompatibility Problems (Score:4, Insightful)
How long before a new version of IE develops incompatibility problems with this extension?
How long until Google or someone else hacks around this?
Re:good (Score:5, Insightful)
Now Microsoft doesn't need to do it anymore. Is this a good thing then? Nice move on Google's part though.
It's a bad thing that Google needs to fix basic functionality in a competitor's product. But it shows one more time why Google is good and why Microsoft is mediocre.
Re:Incompatibility Problems (Score:3, Insightful)
It would be easier for them to just add SVG support.
Can we get rid of IE already, please? Just stop caring about it, and use open standards. If they won't adapt, tough luck.
Re:Funny thing (Score:5, Insightful)
That plugin was always slow and only supported a very limited subset of svg.
Could this be ... (Score:2, Insightful)
Becoming AOL (Score:5, Insightful)
Microsoft is becoming AOL. A crappy, proprietary, expensive, unreliable impediment to getting onto the internet. Their applications have plateaued, and open-source desktop and web-based competitors are improving rapidly. They'll hang on longer, but they've begun their long decline.
Re:Incompatibility Problems (Score:5, Insightful)
I completely understand your hate of IE...I can't tell you how many times I've had to go "fix" my website designs because of IE6...it drives me completely insane. On the other hand, you simply cannot ignore these things. Being a good web designer means you unfortunately need to compensate.
Re:Incompatibility Problems (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm totally down with that... but my boss wouldn't be. I still have to make sure our sites work in IE and FF. :(
Re:Incompatibility Problems (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Incompatibility Problems (Score:5, Insightful)
I'll agree you don't want to alienate your audience just because they're using a broken browser, but that is not what being a "good" web designer is about.
Re:Incompatibility Problems (Score:5, Insightful)
Sorry, I once worked on a site, where we got 16 million visits *a day*! And that's only for the top country.
And your attitude is the very reason we are in this situation.
You always cave in, when you fear you could lose some users. It's so pathetic.
No, don't make links non-underlined! We will lose users!
No, don't stop supporting that browser! We will lose users!
No, don't change the design! We will lose users!
etc, etc, etc.
It's the knock-out argument for all change.
And while others innovate, you keep running behind them, always trying to catch up.
While your user base turns into the most stubborn, spoiled and dumb that is possible.
They will totally dominate you instead of you dominating them.
If you ever read something about leadership, you will understand, that you can only lead, if you do what *you* want, and stand behind that, not caring what the mob/crowd thinks.
Because they will *want* to follow you, if you are a role model, *knowing* what is right.
Of course this won't give you *all* users. Because when you're greedy and want them all, it's pretty much guaranteed that you will be left with even less than if you would have just let those follow you, that want you for what you are.
Yes, it's the same thing as in love and friendship relationships.
And as always, this time it's the leaders again, who will drop support for the IE first. Those sites, where people don't go because the sites are trying to do it right for everybody, but because they're so cool and worth so much to them, that people will do anything to still be able to use their site.
And soon you will follow them. When you notice that half your user base is already lost to them.
No reason Microsoft couldn't do it (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Incompatibility Problems (Score:3, Insightful)
I once worked on a site, where we got 16 million visits *a day*!
Which is what your employer is paying you to deliver.
If those numbers go down because you are too "principled" to support IE - he will find someone a tad more flexible.
Re:Incompatibility Problems (Score:3, Insightful)
"No significant change"? WTH.
I guess that blue line may look "level" if a person doesn't think about it much.
But upon closer inspection you'll realize that it shows an 8% drop over the year. The same happened in 2007-2008. Just three years more of that kind of drop and you'll lose another quarter of the market.
No, IE doesn't have 90% as GP tried to say. And IE is in fact dropping like a rock [wikipedia.org] (PNG version for those with outdated browsers).
People are learning that IE just isn't cool anymore. And I'm glad of it.
Re:Incompatibility Problems (Score:3, Insightful)
There are plenty of free libraries you can use to retain IE6 compatibility with your website. Yes it's quirky and a pain in the ass but if you can't offer at least basic functionality for IE6 users then you're doing something wrong. The anti-IE6 movement just means that there are a lot of developers out there who are too lazy or inexperienced to deal with an older browser. They should take more pride in their work IMHO.
Re:Incompatibility Problems (Score:1, Insightful)
"This site requires Adobe Flash Ten. You may download it HERE."
"This site requires Google SWGWeb. You may download it here."
What's the difference?
Re:Incompatibility Problems (Score:3, Insightful)
Give me a break (Score:3, Insightful)
Sorry, I once worked on a site, where we got 16 million visits *a day*! And that's only for the top country.
Yeah, we've all "worked on" big sites. It's quite another thing to be financially accountable for a big site. You'll find it's a little less easy to cast away 10% of your users overnight when your profit margin is only 1% to 3%.
The proper way to build a big site is to build to standards and then add exception handling for any significant user bases. Over time some of these will shrink below the "who cares" limit and you can get rid of that exception. Obviously those limits will vary per site and audience.
Your rant about leadership is fine, but you do not lead your customers, you serve them. You lead your employees, and then, yes, you sometimes make decisions that are necessary but not popular.
Supporting IE6 means withholding features (Score:5, Insightful)
Even supporting IE at all means withholding features. That can make sense for supporting IE 7/8, which hold about 40% of the browser market.
IE6 only holds about 15% of the browser market, and requires extreme measures to support. If Google, a 150 billion dollar corporation, can't be bothered to support it in something as simple as a webmail client or video portal, why should the little guy struggle to support it in a complex web app?
Re:Incompatibility Problems (Score:3, Insightful)