I received an email from Microsoft yesterday. They announced that Internet Explorer 8 would soon be released.
Then came the interesting part. They want me to make sure that my websites are compatible with their browser, the new IE 8. Isn’t that a bit backwards? Shouldn’t their new browser be compatible with existing websites? If a website displays correctly with IE 7, shouldn’t they make absolutely, positively sure that it will work equally well with IE 8?
So, how do I check to make sure my website is compatible? Oh, it’s so simple, just download the beta version of IE 8 and view my websites. If they display properly, then I am compatible. Gee. Really?
Between my dozen websites, that amounts to about 5,000 pages. Viewing each page, assuming I take no breaks or have any distractions would take about 14 hours (at 10 seconds per page). However, the logistics of tracking which pages I have checked and which pages are pending would be a formidable task, easily doubling or tripling the amount of time. Then, what if a page needed to be tweaked? That would take much more than 10 seconds per page.
Hey, I have a different idea. Let’s not use Internet Explorer 8. Problem solved.
Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book The Successful Author for insider tips and insights.