Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Walmart Rejects Firefox and Safari

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the also-dalmations-have-spots dept.

babooo404 writes "Last week, Walmart launched their online video download service. Immediately there were posts that the service did not work with the Firefox or Safari browsers. There was a collective, "WTF" when this happened as this is 2007, not 1997. Now it appears that reports are out that Walmart has completely turned off the ability to get into the application at all by Firefox, Safari or any other browser it does not like."

4 of 555 comments (clear)

  1. User-Agent by apathy+maybe · · Score: 5, Informative

    Which is why I use a user-agent that says "I am not a Googlebot/2.1". But change it to IE or something else if websites don't like it.

    --
    I wank in the shower.
  2. Re:Of course they wouldn't use Firefox or Safari by suv4x4 · · Score: 5, Informative

    I mean come on, doesn't everyone know that the internet is run on Windows software and IE is the only REAL web browser! Anyone who uses anything else MUST be a hacker trying to break their site.

    This would be funny, if it wasn't true. This was coming 1:1 from the mouth of one of my big clients (and otherwise a smart fella), just 10 months ago.

    I would explain in a long tirade how Firefox is picking up and so on and so on. He'd just say "Nah, don't spend a second testing in Firefox, they'll have to use a REAL browser /IE/.".

    Of course, I was secretly testing in other browsers for the hell of it, since I'm your typical thickheaded geek.

    A month ago, the same client comes back crying that something broke the feature in the new Firefox 2.0. The irony.

    (Also, turned out the issue was from a tweak HE made, after reverting it was ok.)

  3. Re:WTF? by agallagh42 · · Score: 4, Informative

    I'm using Firefox 2.0.0.1 on 2000pro and just checked the Walmart site. No problem at all. I found they sell "Idiocracy" for $18 and change.

    Not that I shop at Walmart because I'm one of those "support small business" types. Has anyone else with Firefox, Safari, Opera and other browsers tried going to the Walmart site? Yes, the Walmart site works fine in Firefox. It's their music download site that doesn't work. Try this: go to walmart.com, click on the "Entertainment" menu, select "Music", then click the big gray "Music Downloads" button. That's when you get the following message:

    We notice you're not using Internet Explorer. To continue, please visit this page using Internet Explorer 6.0 or later. I'm on Vista Ultimate with Firefox 2.0.0.1. It works fine when I use IE7 of course.
    --
    Carpe Cerevisi - Seize the Beer
  4. Re:Of course they wouldn't use Firefox or Safari by SonicSpike · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's not extortion... Small independent businesses in rural and outlying areas don't have the buying power and shipping infrastructure that these multinational mega corps have. In other words, because Wal Mart buys 100,000 hammers in a year they get them for $5 a piece and only ya $.25 to have them shipped. The mom and pop store in Podunk, Nowhere (BFE) might only buy 100 hammers a year. Because they dont get a bulk rate, they have to pay $7 per hammer, and $.75 for shipping per hammer.

    This is just an example but it goes to show that with massive pockets comes distribution and an ability to get bulk rates.

    --
    Libertas in infinitum