4 ms·

From TFA: >> "For developers, it’s one less browser engine to worry about" >> "For the open web: it’s complicated. If I were to put on the hat of a pragmatic

From TFA: >> "For developers, it’s one less browser engine to worry about" >> "For the open web: it’s complicated. If I were to put on the hat of a pragmatic developer, I fail to see the big gain in having competing browser engines." The author does not understand web standards and probably doesn't remember IExplorer's monopoly and the era of "works best in IExplorer" websites. And what fewer and fewer people remember is that IExplorer 5 was the best browser of its generation, the Chrome of its days. And actually I fail to see what this article is doing on HN. Surely there must be better rants around.

majewsky 8y ago
Downvoted because this is quoted entirely out of context. The author makes it abundantly clear that he is not actually holding this position.
wvenable 8y ago
The author says "Microsoft had a browser that sucked (IE6)." This is not true. Microsoft had the best browser -- fastest, most stable, and friendliest for development. They created many of the standards we now take for granted. IE was literally the Chrome of the day -- the best browser installed by default on the biggest operating system.
- bryanlarsen 8y ago
  You're both right. At the beginning of it's reign in 2001 IE6 was way better than alternatives. In 2011 IE6 still had a 5% market share and was the bane of every developer's existence.
- joel_ms 8y ago
  Then they decided to stop improving IE6 (outside security updates) because they (correctly) realized that the web was a threat to the company. IE7 was released 5 years later, literally due to the pressure of other browsers on web standards support. That's when IE 6 sucked, and we all had to live with that suckiness for years on end because of microsofts insane backwards compatibility policies keeping deprecated software alive on life support. Even Microsoft has a IE6 countdown timer now https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/ie6countdown/ https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/ie6coun... IE6 was an unfathomably damaging disaster for the web.
- blackbrokkoli 8y ago
  "fastest" doesn't mean "fast", "friendliest" doesn't mean "friendly". Suffocating progress with monopoly abuse is not a good platform for claiming to have the "best" browser...
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
Trufa 8y ago
This is not a rant, it's a long well thought and insightful blog post, you might disagree, or he might be completely wrong but it's no rant. Besides, the main point is that the UGLY reality is that the only relevant browser/engine is Chrome.

majewsky 8y ago

Downvoted because this is quoted entirely out of context. The author makes it abundantly clear that he is not actually holding this position.

wvenable 8y ago

The author says "Microsoft had a browser that sucked (IE6)." This is not true. Microsoft had the best browser -- fastest, most stable, and friendliest for development. They created many of the standards we now take for granted. IE was literally the Chrome of the day -- the best browser installed by default on the biggest operating system.

bryanlarsen 8y ago
You're both right. At the beginning of it's reign in 2001 IE6 was way better than alternatives. In 2011 IE6 still had a 5% market share and was the bane of every developer's existence.
joel_ms 8y ago
Then they decided to stop improving IE6 (outside security updates) because they (correctly) realized that the web was a threat to the company. IE7 was released 5 years later, literally due to the pressure of other browsers on web standards support. That's when IE 6 sucked, and we all had to live with that suckiness for years on end because of microsofts insane backwards compatibility policies keeping deprecated software alive on life support. Even Microsoft has a IE6 countdown timer now https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/ie6countdown/ https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/ie6coun... IE6 was an unfathomably damaging disaster for the web.
blackbrokkoli 8y ago
"fastest" doesn't mean "fast", "friendliest" doesn't mean "friendly". Suffocating progress with monopoly abuse is not a good platform for claiming to have the "best" browser...
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

Trufa 8y ago

This is not a rant, it's a long well thought and insightful blog post, you might disagree, or he might be completely wrong but it's no rant. Besides, the main point is that the UGLY reality is that the only relevant browser/engine is Chrome.