NOT just IE6, but other OLD Browsers too
Google Jan. 29 said it would cease fully supporting Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 and other older Web browsers for its Google Docs and Google Sites applications March 1.
Google recommends that its Docs and Sites users upgrade to Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 or higher, Mozilla Firefox 3.0 or higher, Apple Safari 3.0 or higher, as well as Google's own Chrome 4.0, which the company rolled out Jan. 25 with a host of extensions.
"Many other companies have already stopped supporting older browsers like Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 as well as browsers that are not supported by their own manufacturers," wrote Google Apps Senior Product Manager Rajen Sheth in a blog post.
Users will still be able to access Docs and Sites through older browsers, including, IE6, Mozilla Firefox 2.0, Apple Safari 2.0 and even Google's own Chrome 3 browser, but "newer features may not be available and some features may even stop working."
Closing the book on IE6 is an interesting choice at a time when many companies are still stuck using the browser, which Microsoft released in 2001 to accompany its Windows XP operating system.
Many corporate workers -- Forrester Research says 78 percent of enterprises -- still use computers with IE6 because that is what their IT shops say they must use to ensure their applications remain usable.
Companies continue to use this dated despite the glut of security holes the application includes. Indeed, it was a flaw in IE6 that hackers exploited to gain access to users' Gmail accounts in the China hack attack that has disrupted relations between Google and the country. Google seized the advantage to tout Chrome 4.0's security.
IE6's infamy even lives large on Wikipedia:
"This version of Internet Explorer is widely derided for its security issues and lack of support for modern web standards, making frequent appearances in "worst tech products of all time" lists, with some publications labeling it as the "least secure software on the planet." Campaigns have been established in order to encourage users to upgrade to newer versions of Internet Explorer or switch to different browsers, and some websites have dropped support for IE6 entirely."
Add Google to the list of companies campaigning for massive jettisoning of the browser, even though it cites application speed, not security, as the end game.
"The Web continues to evolve at lightning speed, and using an up to date browser enables you to use the very latest Web apps," Sheth added.
Of course, there is a strategic element to phasing out IE6. Google stands to gain considerable market share if businesses begin dropping IE6, paving the way for Chrome. Net Applications said IE commands 63 percent of the browser market and Google would love to eat into that.
