Chrome Frame - the end of IE hacks?

redeye_uk

redeye_uk

redeye_uk

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http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/06/21/google_chrome_frame_installs_without_admin_rights/

If you visit a site that has been set up to do so, it will launch Chrome Frame rather than Microsoft's native engine. And users can set Chrome Frame as their default engine via a registry key. Google also provides tools that allow websites to readily encourage users to install Chrome Frame, and some sites, including Yahoo!, are already doing so. Google's Gmail uses Chrome Frame, and the company says the email service runs 30 per cent faster on the plug-in than on older version of IE
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If I am reading this right, then its possible for the site to force the clients browser to run the Google Frame plug-in? Basically, could this spell the end of IE6, 7 & 8 hacks for us web developers?
 
Only if they have the plug-in installed. So you've got to go back to the enterprise admins that still have XP and IE6 on their networks and ask why? To which they are either lazy, have legacy apps or it simply costs too much to roll out new versions. In which case they will be reluctant to install the plug-in or as that article explains, stop it from installing.

Ultimately, if you're a web developer that has to account for businesses using older IE versions then this shouldn't change your practices.
 
redeye_uk said:
Basically, could this spell the end of IE6, 7 & 8 hacks for us web developers?
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In a perfect world, yes. However Chrome frame has been around for a couple of years now, and no significant impact has yet been made.

The problem is that the kind of people still running IE6, 7 & 8 don't care about their browser. They don't care that the website they're viewing is missing all sorts of effects, and security protection. They're not going to go out looking for a new browser, least of all a plug-in - I doubt they even know the difference. They will continue not to care about the browser they use until something happens which forces them to upgrade; sites stop serving pages to out dated browsers.

Will this ever happen? On corporate/ecommerce sites, I doubt it as it would exclude 3% of potential customers. I've seen several personal websites (including my own) which don't serve content to anything less than IE8. They just get shown a message with links to IE9, FF4, Opera and Chrome.

I hope that on Microsofts official IE6 EOL date, google stops serving content to IE6. That really would be the kicker.
 
The web site prompts the user the download the plug-in and the user also doesnt need admin rights to install said plug-in.

It's the kind of thing web illiterate users would click "yes" to if it suddenly popped up.
 
Longbow said:
Does anyone here actually still support IE6? If so, why, given the fairly low usage?
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Client will specify it. At the end of the day they are paying your wage.

Although I tend to demand a significant amount more cash if they are insistant on wanting IE6 & 7 support.
 
I have a website with 20% IE6 useage as the people who use it have no clue about browsers etc. and are still on xp and I believe will only change when their current pc dies...
 
I'm not sure you know, I have a feeling that Microsoft or the other browser developers might end up taking this to court if it becomes commonplace. Microsoft did get a slap over monopolising, so I could see them playing the same card.
 
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