In spite of the fact that Internet Explorer has been improving with every version release, people still love to hate it. Microsoft has been going all out and trying its level best – apart from considering a rebranding exercise – to capture mind space, but has not really been very successful at it.
To me, it is all in the mind. IE lost its brand equity and people no longer want to use it. Its like, most think that a particular search engine gives the best result – and they cannot imagine that any other could give equally good, if not better search results. As a result of which they do not even attempt to try out the other search engines. Habits die hard!
It’s the same with browsers too. IE got a bad name, and rightly too – what with some of its earlier releases like Internet Explorer 6 being full of holes. Microsoft took its dominant position in the browser market for granted and remained complacent. Firefox and then Chrome jumped into the market, exploited the user’s disenchantment with IE and managed to gain a formidable market share.
But with the release of Internet Explorer 9, things started changing. Folks started taking IE seriously again. After Internet Explorer 10 was released, I too switched to it as my default web browser, for the security and the speeds that it offered to me.
IE still owns over half of the market share, although it is no longer the dominant player. It does not matter how you feel about Microsoft. What is important that you get the best browser you deserve. Let go of preconceived notions, try Internet Explorer for a week and see how it suits you. If you don’t like it you can always go back to your favorite alternative browser.
To test your browser, visit the LawnMark 2013 site with IE10 or the latest versions of Firefox or Chrome and click on the RUN BENCHMARK button in the bottom right corner.
Check how fast your browser renders the complete page. Internet Explorer 10 took 7.55 seconds. On Chrome and Firefox, its 150 seconds and counting. So I closed these two browsers. On Opera the button just wouldn’t load.
Now visit the Levitation website. On IE10, you will see a blank gray screen with some gray buttons. On the latest versions of Opera, Chrome or Firefox, you will see the flag and a few effects when you click on it.
But visit the site with Internet Explorer 11 and you will see the fluidity with which the images move. Simply moving the cursor makes the flag jump or levitate.
After reading this, I know there will still be people who will not be able to resist saying, “IE still sux“! 😀 That’s all right. I am not trying to push IE to you. Just want to make sure that you re-check what the ecosystem is NOW offering you, and then decide which browser, you feel suits you the best.
