The news that Microsoft will no longer develop Internet Explorer for the Macintosh is something that should significantly affect me. IE is my browser of choice. Apple’s Safari is still too much of a beta product for it to be my primary browser. My interest in web design also dictates that I know what browsers to design for. There are also implications that the Mac may be undermined as a viable business platform.
I am, however, not too worried about this news. Safari is coming along nicely. Apple should have a great browser by its full number release. As a web designer, this means I have one less browser to worry about (eventually – as in Netscape 2.74). And Apple has positioned itself in such a way that it is covered in the very event something like this happens. In fact, this very move probably accelerated this inevitable news.
“My interest in web design also dictates that I know what browsers to design for.”
What the heck are WC3 standards for? If you design to the browser, not to the standards, then people who choose not to use the browser that you chose to design for get a crappy page…also, I hope that your interest in web design also dictates that you take into account that individuals with disabilities use the internet too & therefore you should make sure that all images have textual equivilent tags and a logical tabbing order for your links.
I said that precisely in favor of W3C standards. Because of old browsers dropping off there are less W3C non-compliant browsers to worry about (like Netscape 3-4.75). One does not have to accommodate these browsers’ quirky rendering of pages any longer. Although I must admit that IE 5.2 for the Mac, although not perfect, is as close to compliancy as Microsoft ever got.
(oh yeah, if you check all my img tags, I provide an alt attribute always)