Even Microsoft wants IE6 to Die

Web designers and developers have been complaining about IE6 for years. In addition to numerous security problems, privacy issues, and bugs, it lacks support for modern web-standards - and it's an absolute nightmare to work with. I've seen it bring otherwise healthy and stable developers to their knees (yes, I'm talking about you Tom Nelson and I feel your pain.) It's hard to believe people are still using IE6. I like to think that they are stuck on a company or internet cafe computer with no control over upgrades, but the fact is there are still people out there don't even realize other browsers are available like, for example, my mother. Over the years there have been clever campaigns such as DearIE6 and IE6 Must Die to get people to upgrade, but they didn't make much of an impact outside of the web community. That's why I was pleasantly surprised when Randall showed me The Internet Explorer 6 Countdown a project by Microsoft created to bring an end to the suffering of designers and developers everywhere. The site is dedicated to watching Internet Explorer 6 usage drop to less than 1% worldwide, so more websites can choose to drop support for Internet Explorer 6. Right now, China is dragging their heels with 30% of users still on IE6 but most of the Scandinavian countries have cleaned up their act with usage dropping below one percent. Consider it another tool in your arsenal against IE6. When a client asks for you to make sure their site renders in IE6, just point the to this site...by MICROSOFT. Even THEY think it's a bad idea for you to use it. I think we all owe it to developers everywhere to head over to our parents house and upgrade their browsers...and help them connect their printer while you're at it.