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Microsoft Ends IE for Mac

RandomMacUser writes "A while ago, Microsoft stopped updating IE for Mac, freezing it at version 5. But according to this Microsoft webpage, all support will cease December 31, 2005, and any official distribution with cease January 31, 2006. Also, the webpage suggests 'that Macintosh users migrate to more recent web browsing technologies such as Apple's Safari.'"

10 of 728 comments (clear)

  1. MS gets wise by Beuno · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    Good thing they're recognizing that there are much better products then theirs

  2. winners and losers by bcrowell · · Score: -1, Flamebait
    The winners:
    • MS, because they weren't profiting from Mac IE, and it was using up their resources to maintain and support it.
    • Firefox, because this will increase their market share, and encourage web sites that are IE-only to shape up.
    The losers:
    • Some Mac users, who will no longer be able to use IE-only sites (such as some banking sites) unless they want to stay with a browser that is no longer being updated (and therefore will more and more unpatched, known security holes).
    • Apple, which over the years has been losing support from software and peripheral vendors, and may some day soon wake up and find itself in third place on the desktop, behind Linux. This is an excuse for people to say "Macintoshes? Hah, they don't even have the blue 'e' thing for getting on the information superhighway!"
  3. Re:Speaking of Safari (Gap.com) by QuietLagoon · · Score: 0, Flamebait
    does anyone know why some websites are locking out safari users?

    This is part of the reason why Microsoft is dropping support for IE on the Mac. Many sites are IE-specific, now all those Mac users will be unable to surf those websites, making OS-X a little less enticing to those who would switch from Windows. Just when OS-X is starting to gain some legs. What a coincidence.

  4. good news... by logik3x · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    This is good news.. has anyone using IE5 is retarded... it's has secure has yelling your pin number when you enter it...

  5. Buy a Windows PC by rsilvergun · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    sorry, but you're basically screwed. Your in the dreaded niche within a niche (a Mac user who won't shell out $300 for a windows pc or virtual pc). And while you do bring some money to the table, you're also a hugh support headache. I guess you could vote with your dollars (if you're in the states BankofAmerica.com works fine in Firefox). Still, unless the number of Firefox/Safari users goes way up, you're probably not going to see support, or only partial support at best.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  6. Re:A casualty of the Intel transition by blakestah · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    This is most likely due to the upcoming Intel transition. IE is written against the Carbon APIs (and most likely in CodeWarrior), which by all accounts (including Jobs himself) takes substantially more code refactoring...

    No one refactors code.

    I hope you meant re-engineered for a different toolkit.

    Refactoring is the process by which you take perfectly functional code, and decide to "clean up" the API, break the code, spend eons re-debugging the code, and then realize weeks later you've spent dozens of hours making your code a tiny bit cleaner so it can accomplish the same thing.

    A scam was launched by these guys who labelled this process as EXTREME PROGRAMMING. They claimed you should re-factor more, and do it in pair programming. If you ever find a programmer who was subjected to this against his will, be prepared for some REAL vitriolic.

    Microsoft was spending money maintaining IE for Macs. Apple stopped loading it by default. NO ONE EVER CHANGES TO IE from Safari. It was only a matter of time before Microsoft dropped it. That's a lot of engineer hours for no reason whatsoever.

    Microsoft will continue pushing their Web Toolkits that prefer to make web sites compatible only with IE. Its in their blood.

  7. Re:Speaking of Safari (Gap.com) by QuietLagoon · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Looks like a couple of moderators don't understand competitive tactics of monoploistic market leaders.

  8. Re:Interesteing [sic] Problems by chrpai · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Your right. They are "going to" one day when they finally dump their Macs and join the rest of the world. This is what happened to me when I dumped my beloved Amiga.

  9. Re:Mod parent down clueless. by teknomage1 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Mod parent down clueless.

    Thank you anonymous for taking those extra 30 seconds to be an asshole.

    --
    Stop intellectual property from infringing on me
  10. Re:A casualty of the Intel transition by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    Refactoring is the process by which you take perfectly functional code, and decide to "clean up" the API, break the code, spend eons re-debugging the code, and then realize weeks later you've spent dozens of hours making your code a tiny bit cleaner so it can accomplish the same thing.

    If you're an incompetent programmer, perhaps. For the rest of us, refactoring is the process by which we clean up our interfaces to enable us to make changes much more easily. Instead of spending 1 week adding a feature and 1 week debugging the new mess, we spend 3 days refactoring the existing code to make adding the new feature much easier, 2 days to add the feature, and end up with cleaner code so it's easy to repeat the process again next week.


    It all sounds so good on paper. The reality is that you can start again from scratch and finish faster than you can re-factor your code. Just because it looks like spaghetti doesn't mean it doesn't work. Re-factoring is something IT guys assign programmers to do because they've never been coding 80 hours a week and modifying the twisted uncommented code of others. IT guys need to take a few valium, tell their bosses it'll get done when it's done, and let the programmer's decide when things need to be re-written.

    Lemme guess...you have proficiency in java, javascript, and C++, and call yourself a programmer?