It’s extremely frustrating as a designer/pseudo-developer, to read all about the latest HTML 5 goodie, CSS3 effect, etc. and realize you’ll never be able to utilize them thanks to Microsoft. Or if you do, you’ll have to create a butt-load of extra code to make your page recognizable in IE (version irrelevant). It’s time for Microsoft to step up to the plate, or leave the game. If they can’t keep up with the most recent ww3 advances in a timely manner, then stop making crappy browsers. Internet Explorer has gone they way of Big Boys restaurants. Yeah, you can find one still, but don’t look behind the counter and certainly don’t expect to have a pleasant experience. Sure, at one time they were great. But better restaurants have come along.

Enough of the analogy. While Apple, Google and Mozilla are now dominating the browser market, there are still enough idiots that will use IE because it’s the browser that was included with their PC. I know, because up until about a couple of years ago, I was one of them. And as I needed to begin developing my own html/css, I realized that I was enabling Microsoft to remain hooked on a bad product. And so are everyone else who continues to use IE. And I would go as far to say that everyone who continues to hack their sites to display in IE is also to blame. The market is still engaged with Microsoft’s crappy product. Businesses continue to develop with IE users in mind because the market share is still intact. And as long as businesses continue to hack for IE, there’s no incentive for MS to do anything about it.

If they’re not going to retool their browser, they should give it a quick, painless death.