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This amount of delay between RTM of IE for Win8 and Preview for Win7 is a bad sign that IE is getting on anything resembling a rapid release cycle. I continue t

This amount of delay between RTM of IE for Win8 and Preview for Win7 is a bad sign that IE is getting on anything resembling a rapid release cycle. I continue to hold out hope since I want the web to move forward, and overall IE10 made more progress than I expected, but I'm really looking for MS to pick it up a notch. The IE team is part of Windows and it's clear that their priority is Windows 8 and not Web in general. Also I really hope this isn't the gimped shell that they've used for past previews- makes it incredibly difficult to use for any period of time.

Mythbusters 14y ago
I don't get why a rapid release cycle is important at all?
- randomfool 14y ago
  Something resembling a yearly release cadence with very quick customer update cycle (not waiting 3 years to get 40%of the market)would be great. Rapid is relative- FireFox's schedule seems too eager for me. For the web to move forward we either need IE being an active participant helping push forward or to get out of the way. In general I'm disappointed with the lack of enthusiasm MS is showing for down level OSes.
- mtgx 14y ago
  Will we have to wait until until IE11 for the Opus codec? What about WebGL, WebRTC and other HTML5 features? This is why a faster release cycle matters. They are staying too behind on features compared to the other browsers, and developers who want to build serious HTML5 web apps can't just wait around for IE. They will build them for Chrome and Firefox first.
- andybak 14y ago
  I hazard a guess you aren't a web-developer. Imagine that for every fix, new features and improvement to your platform of choice you can't use it until 95% of your audience has the ability and incentive to upgrade.
  - drhowarddrfine 14y ago
    IE only makes up about 50% of all users but, yes, it depends on your users.
  - swernli 14y ago
    Fair point, but still nothing compared to OS development, where you usually can't release a new version without having to worry about people trying to run it on 10 year old computers and everyone expecting entrenched, old enterprise software that uses all APIs you wish you could deprecate to continue working flawlessly. A lot of developers can't have the luxury of using the latest and greatest tech because they have to worry about existing customers. They can't start from scratch without upending existing revenue streams.
- velodrome 14y ago
  A rapid-release cycle coupled with automatic updates helps push the web forward. Chrome and Firefox do not have very much version fragmentation compared to IE. Much like the Android issue, you cannot use the latest and greatest features because a large portion of your users are still on old platforms. There is really three options available to web developers: 1) Do nothing 2) Employ some new features and allow for graceful degradation 3) Use the latest features and/or force users to upgrade their browsers Most developers go for option #2. Browser vendors who employ a faster release cycle help reduce the time-to-market for new features to go mainstream. I will make it simple: Would you rather wait 5 years to stop using images for rounded corners (border-radius)? 1 year? 3 months?
  - jjkmk 14y ago
    Exactly, IE has been behind and lost much of its market share due to this.
anonymfus 14y ago
In my crystal ball there are also signs that whole Windows itself will get rapid release cycle. I see that only one commercial mention version 8 and others just advertise Windows, I see rumours that first service pack for W8 will bring new features, I see that Windows RT don't have version in product name. So tightening Windows and IE release cycles can be not so bad as it seems.

Mythbusters 14y ago

I don't get why a rapid release cycle is important at all?

randomfool 14y ago
Something resembling a yearly release cadence with very quick customer update cycle (not waiting 3 years to get 40%of the market)would be great. Rapid is relative- FireFox's schedule seems too eager for me. For the web to move forward we either need IE being an active participant helping push forward or to get out of the way. In general I'm disappointed with the lack of enthusiasm MS is showing for down level OSes.
mtgx 14y ago
Will we have to wait until until IE11 for the Opus codec? What about WebGL, WebRTC and other HTML5 features? This is why a faster release cycle matters. They are staying too behind on features compared to the other browsers, and developers who want to build serious HTML5 web apps can't just wait around for IE. They will build them for Chrome and Firefox first.
andybak 14y ago
I hazard a guess you aren't a web-developer. Imagine that for every fix, new features and improvement to your platform of choice you can't use it until 95% of your audience has the ability and incentive to upgrade.
- drhowarddrfine 14y ago
  IE only makes up about 50% of all users but, yes, it depends on your users.
- swernli 14y ago
  Fair point, but still nothing compared to OS development, where you usually can't release a new version without having to worry about people trying to run it on 10 year old computers and everyone expecting entrenched, old enterprise software that uses all APIs you wish you could deprecate to continue working flawlessly. A lot of developers can't have the luxury of using the latest and greatest tech because they have to worry about existing customers. They can't start from scratch without upending existing revenue streams.
velodrome 14y ago
A rapid-release cycle coupled with automatic updates helps push the web forward. Chrome and Firefox do not have very much version fragmentation compared to IE. Much like the Android issue, you cannot use the latest and greatest features because a large portion of your users are still on old platforms. There is really three options available to web developers: 1) Do nothing 2) Employ some new features and allow for graceful degradation 3) Use the latest features and/or force users to upgrade their browsers Most developers go for option #2. Browser vendors who employ a faster release cycle help reduce the time-to-market for new features to go mainstream. I will make it simple: Would you rather wait 5 years to stop using images for rounded corners (border-radius)? 1 year? 3 months?
- jjkmk 14y ago
  Exactly, IE has been behind and lost much of its market share due to this.

anonymfus 14y ago

In my crystal ball there are also signs that whole Windows itself will get rapid release cycle. I see that only one commercial mention version 8 and others just advertise Windows, I see rumours that first service pack for W8 will bring new features, I see that Windows RT don't have version in product name. So tightening Windows and IE release cycles can be not so bad as it seems.