Quacked

This may sound strange to some, but I suspect it will not come as a revelation to others: in the course of developing and deploying Quacked, it never once occurred to me that I should test it for compatibility in Internet Explorer.  It may seem capricious and irresponsible to ignore a browser that still holds the lion’s share of the web-surfing market, but the facts present a patent case against sinking my limited time and resources into maintaining the code for software that is, by web standards, glaringly outdated.

To be clear, I am referring to Internet Explorer (IE) versions prior to number 9, which was released last month and made several improvements to what had been a rotting core.  What did not change, however, is the fact that a large majority of IE users have not yet migrated to the latest version — many are still using version 6! — and thus suffer the same compatibility headaches that have plagued it since technologies like CSS and asynchronous JavaScript took over the web.  Presently, IE9 usage accounts for less than two per cent of the browser market, while all IE versions account for approximately half of it, depending on whose metrics you’re using.

If you visit Quacked in IE, you will be presented with a reasonable facsimile of what it is supposed to look like on its Gecko (Firefox) and WebKit (Chrome, Safari) based brethren.  It is not perfect, but it’s readable.  What I feel you should know, dear IE user, is that it will never look perfect because I don’t intend to start caring about its Microsoft-rendered appearance.

So if you happen to read this post, and the little blue “e” still adorns the top of your window as you do, please consider an upgrade.  You might suddenly start seeing the internet in a whole new way — a way you never knew existed because sites were being dumbed down for your archaic browser.  The alternatives available are not arcane, underground products with untested compatibility that only “hackers and geeks” use.  They are mature, stable, commercially-accepted applications that will be updated several times with new features and bug fixes before Microsoft even thinks about releasing its next major revision to IE.

I implore you, IE user, to upgrade to Internet Explorer 9, at the very least.  It’s not perfect, but it is a huge step up from previous versions, and if nothing else it will give you a taste of what you’re missing.

The world of technology moves at breakneck speed and does not stop for anybody.  In order to keep this website (and the many others you visit) up-to-date with the best new tools available, the users of the internet have to do their part and keep up with the times.

The links you need are just below.  Thanks in advance.

When Quacked launched in August 2009, I never expected that the effort maintaining it would be the roller coaster ride it has been. Rather, I never expected that if it ever fell into a semi-abandoned state that I would have the energy and time to attempt a revival.

The initial offering was the result of a lengthy labor of love, undertaken with the goal of crafting a niche site that would serve its users well. Unfortunately, a confluence of devilish layout details and sporadic updating ultimately proved its demise. All was not lost, however, as the experience I gained in pursuing such a project undoubtedly taught me many lessons that I would have otherwise not learned.