There is a saying in the development world that Internet Explorer 6 haunts our nightmares.

Launched exactly 10 years ago, Internet Explorer 6 was released as the default browser package with Windows XP and as a result became the default on many individual and corporations desktops to search the web. In addition to being slow, out of date, prone to attack and inefficient, Internet Explorer 6 also renders HTML incorrectly which creates a raft of back-end challengers for web developers.

There is light at the end of a decade long tunnel though and it seems 2012 could finally be the year we say good-bye to Internet Explorer 6. In December 2011, the latest figures across the world show 7.7% of the population are still using Internet Explorer 6 (though across Australia the figure is now as low as 1.4%). This is a significant drop in 12 months (approximately 6 percentage points) and action is being taken worldwide to reduce the figure to below 1% worldwide in 2012. (source: Net Applications, Dec.31 2011 data, Internet Explorer 6 usage share by country).

Even Microsoft is discouraging its use via its website http://www.ie6countdown.com/ and encouraging upgrade to its latest offering and asking others to spread the word.

This is great news for both the broader and web development community alike. There are a multitude of new age web browsers available that offer more power, speed, custom add-ons and features such as data-synchronization, file management, in-line spell check, visual tricks to make your browsing history more interesting or include the social network experience into the browser environment. We would rather spend time making sure your website makes the best use of all of these opportunities in the future rather than struggling to make a site work for redundant Internet Explorer 6.

So join the movement, encourage others to spread the word and lets say good-bye to Internet Explorer 6.

If you would like more information on how we can tailor your site to maximise the opportunities of the web browsers of the future call us on 9385 2333.

• http://www.ie6countdown.com/
• http://www.biztechmagazine.com/article/2012/01/internet-explorer-6-marke...