‘Funeral’ being held today for aging Web browser
I thought this was cool. Members of design agency in Colorado will be gathering today to have a funeral for the Death Internet Explorer 6.0. Oh those words sound so nice for a web agency that pulls its respective hairs out coding for IE 6.
Here is an excerpt of the article that appeared on CNN.com.
More than 100 people, many of them dressed in black, are expected to gather around a coffin Thursday to say goodbye to an old friend.
The deceased? Internet Explorer 6.
The aging Web browser, survived by its descendants Internet Explorer 7 and Internet Explorer 8, is being eulogized at a tongue-in-cheek “funeral” hosted by Aten Design Group, a design firm in Denver, Colorado.
The memorial service will feature a coffin holding a “body” that has an IE6 logo for a head. Attendees are expected to eulogize the Microsoft browser by sharing remembrances, some of which have already been posted on the company’s online funeral invitation.
“I feel terrible admitting this, but … I never really liked him,” posted someone who gave his name as Eddie Escher. “He had so many hang-ups, and he looked awful — especially in his later years. But… he was always there when you needed him. You have to give him that.”
Internet Explorer 6 isn’t exactly dead yet, and in fact remains widely used. But in recent years, it’s been eclipsed by newer, faster browsers that are better equipped to run the Web’s latest bells and whistles. Google Docs and Google Sites discontinued support for the browser Monday, and YouTube will follow suit March 13.
“The web has evolved in the last ten years, from simple text pages to rich, interactive applications including video and voice. Unfortunately, very old browsers cannot run many of these new features effectively,” wrote a senior product manager in a Google blog post. He urged users to upgrade to more modern browsers.