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This is useful, although as another post notes, there are a few sites that don't accept that as a valid address... including the UK Government Gateway!

And don't forget about the Government Gateway...

In UK, the move to digital signature was pioneered by Inland Revenue (IRS for Americans). The Government's Gateway provides the digital certificate, which then can be used to digitally sign online forms.

However there were concerns that the implementation is too proprietary, risking dependence to few vendors. Considering what the Gateway's doing, I think these concerns are valid.

There were also little silliness along the way, such as the 50 poundsterling discount by Inland revenue (IRS for Americans) if you submit your tax online and sign it with your certificate BUT the certificate itself cost 50 poundsterling as well, etc.

But I haven't followed it for quite a while now, hopefully things are better now.

Some time ago there was a story about the IE only UK government gateway size. Fortunately, this is no longer the case.

Why is Australia always referred to as "Down Under?" Are Australians somehow inferior to Americans and Yookers?

I mean, having the north pole at the top of the globe is only arbitrary. Who is to say the earth spins counterclockwise? Only those who never look at the globe with the south pole at top. Which is most of the northern hemisphere.

Then again, I guess those who conquer the world get to make the roolz.

I'm surprised that nobody seems to remember this. It was a couple of months ago, when the British government had the misfortune of commissioning MS to design their web portal. The result, a public site paid for by UK taxpayers, it denied access to non-IE browsers. The explanation was a supposed immaturity of SSL support in these browsers, IIRC. Sorry, I'm too lazy right now to dig up any links on this, but there was something about it on LT and ZDNET.

The URL is www.gateway.gov.uk, and if one clicks on "What do I need before I can register" one sees that this has been fixed; a reasonable palette of browsers is now supported.

Maybe it's just me, but isn't what they tried to pull there a bit more serious than barring people from their own corporate wesite?

Well, i got in with mozila 0.9 (albeit running under w98) when i enabled javascript and cookies. So i guess (if the story is not totally bogus) that someone reacted very fast and disabled that IE-Hurdle at the entrance (that's a cheap one). I even got into the secure site (https://secure. ...) and for people who couldn't use the certificate to log in there seemed to be a possibility to get a userid and password via mail. I also got to the inlandrevenue-site from there.

From What do I need before I register? section (it's javascript activiated, so I can't post the URL: its off the main site):

What do I need before I can register?

Before you register with the Government Gateway, check the requirements below to make sure you have everything you need:

Hardware

• PC or Macintosh
• A working Internet connection

Software

• PC Users
  • Microsoft Windows (Windows 95 and above or Windows NT 4 and above)
  • Internet browser. Either Microsoft Internet Explorer (v4.01 or later) or Netscape Navigator (v4.08 or later).

    Please note that if you wish to enrol for services that require a digital certificate, you may not be able to use the full range of browsers listed above. For example, Equifax certificates can currently only be used with Internet Explorer 5.01 or later (they do not work on any version of the Netscape browser); ChamberSign certificates can be used with both Nestcape Navigator and Internet Explorer, except they are not currently supported on version 6 of the Netscape browser. Please check your certificate provider's web site for more information about which browsers they support.

  • Your browser must have Javascript and Cookies enabled, and be capable of supporting 128bit SSL.
• Apple Macintosh Users
  • Mac OS version 7.5 or later
  • Internet browser. Either Microsoft Internet Explorer (v5.0 or later) or Netscape Navigator (v4.08 or later). Please note that although you can access the Government Gateway web site with these browsers, ChamberSign and Equifax digital certificates are not supported on the Macintosh. Macintosh users can currently only register for Government services that require a User ID and Password, not services that require a digital certificate (such as the Electronic VAT Return or MAFF IACS Area Aid Application).
  • Your browser must have Javascript and Cookies enabled, and be capable of supporting 128bit SSL.

So basically, this story is only true if you have an Equifax certificate.

But to access their secure areas of the web site:
http://www.gateway.gov.uk/help/0/help_template.asp ?content=help_what_do_i_need_to_register.htm

Looks like they are not consistent with stating what browsers you require.

According to the linked page, it dosen't work at all using Netscape 4.77 and Linux. It comes back and says my browser is "old" or "does not have the correct settings". I get the same using mozilla 0.9.

According to their help you only need:

What do I need before I can register?

Before you register with the Government Gateway, check the requirements below to make sure you have everything you need:

Hardware

* PC or Macintosh

* A working Internet connection

Software

PC Users

* Microsoft Windows (Windows 95 and above or Windows NT 4 and above)

* Internet browser. Either Microsoft Internet Explorer (v4.01 or later) or Netscape Navigator (v4.08 or later).

Your browser must have Javascript and Cookies enabled, and be capable of supporting 128bit SSL.

Apple Macintosh Users

* Mac OS version 7.5 or later

* Internet browser. Either Microsoft Internet Explorer (v5.0 or later) or Netscape Navigator (v4.08 or later).

Your browser must have Javascript and Cookies enabled, and be capable of supporting 128bit SSL.

But it looks like Netscape or Mozilla should work just fine.

Supported Browsers

We have made the Government Gateway compatible with as many browsers as possible, on both PCs and Macintoshes. However, because we need to maintain maximum security on this web site, we cannot support older versions of browsers. To use the Government Gateway, you must have:

• a PC, with Windows 95 or later, or Windows NT 4.0 or later with Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.01 or later or Netscape Navigator version 4.08 or later
• OR an Apple Macintosh with Mac OS version 7.5 or later with Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.0 or later or Netscape Navigator version 4.xx or later a working Internet connection the 128-bit security add-in, for your version of the browser

Read the system/browser requirements page for more info. Windows/MacOS/Netscape/IE are all explicitly supported, and Linux probably as well as long as your browser handles digital certificates properly.

Slashdot definitely needs to do some fact checking before they post. And then all you Linux zealots point the finger at Microsoft for spreading obviously false rumours.

.... works with Netscape version 4.08+. What do I need before I can register?

If you actually go to the site and click on the "What do I need before I can register?" link, you'll see that they support both Netscape and IE on PC and Mac platforms. Only certain services require IE 5.01 or later, and that's due to differences in certificate support, not anything having to do with .NET.

If you actually go to the site and click on the "What do I need before I can register?" link, you'll see that they support both Netscape and IE on PC and Mac platforms. Only certain services require IE 5.01 or later, and that's due to differences in certificate support, not anything having to do with .NET.

Take a look at this piece in The Register. Basically, Microsoft have implemented a site for the UK government called Government Gateway, which will enable you to use your computer to electronically perform a lot of tasks which previously needed lots of paper work (like Tax Self Assessment). However, if you go to the Gateway you find that they have very restrictive checks on the browser you are using -- and they won't let you use some of the areas which use a digital certificate unless you are using Internet Explorer 5+.

You can still use it if you fake the UserAgent string, but this sort of behaviour from a website is at best crude, and at worst deliberately targeting non-Microsoft OSes.