No, we haven't upgraded to Internet Explorer 7 yet, and we're not wild about the idea of doing so. It's bad enough that the majority of the world uses this pathetic excuse for a browser, whether because they are forced to on their work computers, or because it's easier to just go with what's installed, but the fact that web designers are forced to design their pages with tedious workarounds just to accommodate IE's bullshit idiosyncrasies drives us fucking nuts. Add to that the rampant security flaws that riddle the history of Internet Explorer (which show no signs of going away any time soon), the inextricable integration with the Windows OS that makes it damn near impossible (and highly inadvisable) to uninstall IE, and the overall grace and style of a sophomore D&D geek at the senior prom (ah, those were the days), and we're hard-pressed to understand why anybody would voluntarily use this fucking piece of shit software.

They had a chance — they really did — to make amends by building a robust, full-featured and compliant new release. And what does Microsoft go and do?

Speaking of rendering, IE 7 offers Clear-type text enhancements but still does not offer full Cascading Style Sheet 2.1 (CSS 2.1) standards compatibility and has spotty support of XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.01, WML 2.0, ECMAScript, DOM 2, and SVG 1.1--standards supported by the W3C organization. Thus, IE 7 fails what is called the Acid2 Test, a test designed by the Web Standards Project to demonstrate complete standards compliance. So far, among the browsers reviewed by CNET, only Opera has passed the latest Acid2 test, with Mozilla Firefox expected to comply shortly. As Web designers adopt these standards, some sites may begin break as IE 7 falls farther behind the standard used by Web designers worldwide.

Come on, seriously — WHY?! Why must Microsoft be so goddamned fucking obtuse about this? It's so fucking simple: just build a rendering engine that complies with the standards that everyone else is using (or at least aiming for), and suddenly web designers will stop complaining about your crappy product. Do they think it's "cool" to buck the trend? Are they trying to be "mavericks" or something? The fringe non-conformists? Guess what, Microsoft: all you are is a crew of major dickheads.

We're so entirely fed up with constantly testing new code and layout in every damn browser we have installed...and what does Microsoft do? They release another crappy browser with the same crappy rendering engine.

Hey, Microsoft: fuck you. Fuck you and your Windows Genuine Version Whatever updates which we've already nixed a dozen times.

...whether because they are forced to on their work computers...

In my summer job, this was the case, but on the computer I'm using for my research project while at school, I was pleasantly surprised to find Firefox installed. Maybe it's a Canadian thing (my summer job was in the States), or maybe it's just someone smart in this department.

But aside from that, I actually did find a site once that displayed correctly in IE, but horribly in Firefox. I'm guessing this was just because it was programmed specifically for IE, though.

I don't understand the problem. Doesn't everybody use Firefox? If not, why not??

( I have no need to piss & moan about Kimchi - for there is none in my fridge )

"But aside from that, I actually did find a site once that displayed correctly in IE, but horribly in Firefox. I'm guessing this was just because it was programmed specifically for IE, though."

I too have noted this with some sites Infophile one of them was MSN, odd that ain't it?.

Yeah, there are a few brain-dead troglodytes out there designing for IE instead of a decent browser like Firefox. Freakish people who will probably have mobs of angry W3C-compliant designers marching on their houses with torches and pitchforks. I won't say I'll be among them (I don't subscribe to the mob mentality), but I'll certainly TiVo it and watch it a few times, smiling angelically all the while.

Schick, I'd love to agree with you, but as a web designer I'm torn. A more apt analogy would be if everyone else on Earth only ate kim chi, and you had to cook the foul-smelling stuff for them whenever you invited guests over for dinner. You don't like the stuff, you don't want to cook it (let alone eat it), but the demands of 90% of your guests can't be ignored...at least, if you ever want guests. Sucks, but it's true.

Incidentally, speaking of that damn Windows Genuine Advantage thing, I found an interesting page that offers advice on getting around it. I won't vouch for its accuracy or efficacy, but it's nice to imagine that some folks out there are fighting the good fight.