Browser Support Change: Dropping IE

Posted November 21, 2015, 3:52 p.m.

Off on a Tangent has long supported the most recent versions of the major desktop and mobile web browsers. By policy, this support extends to the most recent two versions of desktop browsers, and the most recent one version of tablet and mobile browsers.

With the launch of Microsoft Windows 10 on the desktop in July, I initiated support for Microsoft Edge, the new default browser for Windows. For simplicity’s sake, I am treating Edge as a new version of the now-discontinued Internet Explorer (IE) browser. So, since July, I have officially supported IE 11 and the initial version of Edge as the most recent two Microsoft browsers on the desktop. On mobile, I supported IE Mobile on Windows Phone 8.1 as the single most recent mobile version.

In the last week or so, something momentous happened. Microsoft released a major update of Windows 10 on November 12, paired with an updated version of Edge. Under the ‘last two versions’ rule, I then dropped IE 11 support. And then Microsoft released Windows 10 Mobile on November 20, paired with its new Edge mobile browser. Under the ‘last one version’ rule for mobile devices, I dropped support for Windows Phone 8.1’s IE.

In other words, Off on a Tangent, for the first time in its history, does not officially support any version of Microsoft Internet Explorer. And although IE 9, 10, and 11 weren’t too bad, I still hold enough web-developer hatred for earlier versions—especially 6—that I’ll still say: GOOD RIDDANCE.

This does not mean it will stop working . . . it only means that I won’t actively test the site in IE or spend much time (if any) fixing bugs that only affect IE users. If you’re still using IE, I recommend that you switch to something else.

Scott Bradford has been putting his opinions on his website since 1995—before most people knew what a website was. He has been a professional web developer in the public- and private-sector for over twenty years. He is an independent constitutional conservative who believes in human rights and limited government, and a Catholic Christian whose beliefs are summarized in the Nicene Creed. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from George Mason University. He loves Pink Floyd and can play the bass guitar . . . sort-of. He’s a husband, pet lover, amateur radio operator, and classic AMC/Jeep enthusiast.

Quotes

When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep—not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD.

The Americans . . . frequently allow themselves to be borne away, far beyond the bound of reason, by a sudden passion or a hasty opinion, and they sometimes gravely commit strange absurdities.

The more laws and restrictions there are, the poorer people become.

All religions, arts, and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man’s life.

Broadly speaking, short words are best, and the old words, when short, are best of all.

Are you so foolish? Having begun with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?

Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason why so few engage in it.

The opinions of the supreme court, whatever they may be, will have the force of law; because there is no power provided in the constitution that can correct their errors, or control their adjudications.

Nothing can be preserved that is not good.

Do not return evil for evil or reviling for reviling; but on the contrary bless, for to this you have been called, that you may obtain a blessing.

To be punished is not an evil; but it is an evil to be made worthy of punishment.

The more base and corrupt a man, the more ready is he to charge crimes to others. Those who want credit for good character foolishly believe that the best way to get it is to denounce others.

The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom.

The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment.

You only live twice: Once when you are born, and once when you look death in the face.

For the Church remains our mother because Christ remains Christ, and she is not changed into a step-mother simply because of our evil rulers.

When you’ve exhausted all possibilities, remember this: You haven’t!

I believe it is an established maxim in morals that he who makes an assertion without knowing whether it is true or false, is guilty of falsehood; and the accidental truth of the assertion, does not justify or excuse him.

Some western scholars have tried to argue that Islamic anti-Semitism is only a recent phenomenon learned from the Nazis and that Jews lived safely under Islamic rule for centuries, especially in medieval Spain. These assertions are not supported by the evidence.