In a controversial move by Microsoft, Internet Explorer 8 is to switch off all of its new features by default. This includes improved rendering abilities for standards compliance.
Any developer who wishes to allow IE8 to render their site correctly (like Firefox, Safari & Opera already do by default) they will need to add a line or two of code to enable these features (version targeting).
The irony is having IE8 render correctly with its new features will eliminate the need for version targeting of browsers. Developers will need to version target IE8 in order to opt out of version targeting!
This is of course aimed to prevent the "breaking of the web" which refers to non savvy developers who have built their sites to work solely on the IE6 & IE7 platforms. Basically allowing lazy, overpaid developers to get away with a poor job.
For more information read the full article (rant) by Clear Left's Jeremy Keith.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Will IE8 "break the web"?