Google Dropping Support for Internet Explorer 6.0

Before going into some of the pros and cons of if Internet Explorer 6 is a defunct browser here are some statistics regarding its market share. 20.99% of internet users use IE6 while IE8 the latest version is used by 20.86% of internet users. This basically means out of every 5 internet users 1 of them is on Internet Explorer 6. I took these statistics from Marketshare.histlink website.

This reveal that when it comes to Internet Explorer people prefer using an older version than the newer one. What has compounded the problem is that Microsoft as yet has not forced its users to upgrade.

Google has recently announced that it will not support Internet Explorer 6 as a browser version if you are using Google Docs or Sites. I think considering certain reports that the latest Chinese hacking into Google incident took place by taking advantage of a security flaw within Internet Explorer 6; Google might even stop supporting Gmail for IE 6.0 very soon.

So if you are using Google Docs and using Internet Eplorer 6 you will get a message to upgrade as certain new features will not be abvailable with IE6 at all.

This is a bold move by Google considering they are now essentially telling 1/5th of the internet users to either upgrade their browser or not be able to use their services fully. I think Google probably has with this statement passed a silent message that people should now start using Chrome. 😉

Problems for Internet Explorer 6

• Windows XP was well received and subsequently it’s default browser IE6 was also well received.
• Windows Vista was not as well received and that led it’s default browser IE7 being not so well received. What probably should concern Internet Explorer developers is that many who did not opt for Vista also did not opt for IE7.
• Now that Windows 7 has been well received you can expect the numbers for Internet Explorer 8 to pick up.
• In the mean time more and more people are prefering to use Firefox and Chrome. Chrome is still an infant but it’s growth is quite phenomenal.
• IE6 will see a rapid downward spiral considering many companies and security experts lampooning it for security flaws. Recently German government recommended people not to use it at all.

What do you think? Is it about time Internet Explorer 6 is given a retirement? Let me know your opinions through your comments.

Image Source: Spigot Design

Link: Google Docs