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IE6 is over 7 YEARS OLD.    It's time to die.            

Good news!  Microsoft has announced that they will now give users an automatic update notification to upgrade to IE8 (http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2009/04/10/prepare-for-automatic-update-distribution-of-ie8.aspx).     Unfortunately this is not a compulsory update, and there are many corporate users and luddites who may being locked into IE6 for some time to come.  So, this piece of shit browser will still continue to plague us.

Why does IE6 suck so bad?

Internet Explorer 6 is incredibly insecure.    This alone is reason enough to nix it from the world's browser repertoire.   Additionally, IE6 is not standards compliant, has severe useability issues, doesn't properly support new technologies, suffers from poor performance, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.    To further drive home my point, observe that Microsoft's very own MSN site is not IE6 compliant.

Also, let us also not forget IE6's economic impact.    Developers spend countless hours "hacking" clean, well-designed websites to display properly in IE6.      This time often accounts for as much as 20% of the total cost of development.   In terms of dollars, this translate to millions in wasted time and lost productivity.    It's time for developers and clients to take a stand against IE6.

How can we take a stand?

The cleanest way is to insert code that prevents (or discourages) IE6 users from visiting our sites.       The Stop IE6 Campaign has provided a Javascript app just for this purpose.     So, speak with your clients, and let them know the dangers, useability issues, and cost of IE6.     Together, we can fight this pandemic.