The Inevitable Finally Happened

Posted by Rick Hosmer on March 04 2010

Well, it's official. The venerable Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) has finally passed away.

We have been waiting (and hoping) for this event for quite some time. Supporting websites to function properly in such a geriatric browser was a pain. Born in 2001, IE6 was the browser du jour for many years, but it eclipsed itself with IE7 and IE8.

According to today's article on CNN.com, "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."

Klündt | Hosmer has encouraged people to upgrade their Web browsers (away from IE6) for several years. Mastery Sheets (one of our site developers) has wanted to "pull the plug" on IE6 for an equally long time. Now, it appears to be official. A funeral service for IE6 is being held today in Denver, CO. In lieu of flowers, donations should be made toward upgrading your network to IE8, Firefox, Safari, or any current Web browser.

The accompanying graphic is part of the funeral notice designed by Aten Design Group.