Which browser are you? Oct 30th '09

Once upon a time, in a Web far, far away, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 6 was released. In the year 2001. At the time we were a little bit happier, it fixed lots of bugs with Internet Explorer 5 and added lots of new toys for Web developers to play with. But it still contained lots of issues. The browser is now over 8 years old, in a market where something released last week is considered yesterdays old news.

Fast forward a couple of years

Firstly, if you aren’t sure what exactly a browser is then check out this 1 minute video explanation.

We welcomed Mozilla Firefox in late 2004 built with standards and compliance in mind. And we’ve been happier because since then code we wrote actually did what it was told to do. We can now natively use “cool” things, like transparent PNG‘s and the canvas element. We can even use something called CSS3, allowing rounded corners, shadows and other neat tricks as standard.

But there’s always that ball and chain that is Internet Explorer 6. Dragging us back to the year 2001. The good news is that it’s slowly reducing in usage. We’re lucky that today there are many other completely free alternatives including, but not limited to Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Google Chrome, Opera and even Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 is doing a good job (though trailing behind on that thing called CSS3).

All this innovation has allowed for some fantastic applications to be built. Facebook is an example that heavily uses recent technologies, with modal screens, drop downs and chat windows. Google Wave is tipped to be the next big thing, revolutionising the way we communicate with each over the Web, only time will tell if this is the case. So what are you waiting for, try out a new browser today, enjoy the latest technological developments and see if it suits your way of browsing the Web—what’s the worst that could happen?

Written by Christopher Hill

How can I get in contact with you?

To send us an email complete the form below. If you would like us to become part of your team and develop your next Web application, then please download and complete our project planner sheet on the right and email it to us at hello@centation.com or by completing the form below.