Just the mindless blathering of a bored nerd

Two weeks ago, Microsoft announced it’s intent to continue to support the 8 year old Internet Explorer (IE) 6 until the year 2014 (IE Blog). The response from the web was difficult to distinguish from the sound of nooses tightening around scrawny necks and bullets plowing through HTML and Javascript packed minds. But, alas, the day has been saved. Well…for those who have yet to commit hara kari, that is. Google is steping up to the plate to accomplish what the big “M” is unwilling (or incapable) of doing.

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s…Google??

Google announced the IE plugin called Google Frame. On pages that require advanced features that IE simply does not support, rather than dumb down the page or simply turn IE users away, web developers may now require users to install Chrome Frame. For pages that support this plugin, any version of IE will be able to tap into the power of one of the most advanced web browsers available today. For all other pages, IE will retain its normal (albeit, irritating) operation.

Here’s a better summary of Chrome Frame and it’s purpose straight from Google…

So Microsoft is thankful for the help…right?

Wrong. But their nay-saying is quite understandable. Googles move undermines Microsoft’s authority and strangle hold on the web in the worst way imaginable.

The official word from Microsoft is that Chrome Frame will make IE “less secure”. This is the argument from the company whose product was revealed to contain a Kanye-West’s-head sized security hole just this December. Every expert in the public eye took the opportunity to warn everyone away from the browser (Tech Flash, BBC amongst many others).

In an effort to recover from the IE security scare, Microsoft performed…er…I’m sorry “NSS Labs” peformed security tests (with Microsoft sponsorship). Guess which browser was found to be the most secure: IE…by a lot. A whole lot. A whole hey-why-does-this-ballot-chad-look-funny lot.

Now that Microsoft has established that its browser is the, *ahem*, leader in security, it is free to use this “boogyman” tactic to scare users from installing the Google product. But why, OH WHY, would they not want Google’s help in fixing their browser issues?

Once you go black…

Microsoft has a very real concern. IE is regarded by the majority of the web world to be a technologically inferior product. However, despite this and the fact that there are far superior and free alternatives (Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, to name two), IE retains the overwhelming market share.

The reason is simple: IE comes preinstalled with Windows and people have been “eating” this product for as long as they have had ‘net access. After all, what’s the difference? A browser’s a browser. All I wanna do is read the latest Matlock blog and take my Geritol! Aside: Does anyone actually know what Geritol is???

How is one to know the joy of biting into a thick n’ juicy marinated steak when they’ve been on an Ethiopian diet consisting largely of meal worms and whatever was inside the crate marked “UN”?  And once you’ve tasted quality, it’s difficult to go back to freeze dried fruit.  Microsoft stands to potentially have the blindfold removed from their users eyes that they’ve worked tirelessly to staple into place.

Bottom line: provided the plugin reaches the popularity of other plugins, such as Adobe’s Flash player, web developers around the world will sing Ewok-ian songs of praise to the search giant for freeing us to use the moder-day advancements that Microsoft has repeatedly failed to employ.