Before you read this, there is something you should know about me. I am a web developer and a computer geek, so my bias might be palpable. To me, Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) is a much needed update. When I saw an email in my inbox from the University saying IE8 is not supported by all of the major systems here and subsequently how to disable getting IE8 in the next Windows Update, I was a little upset. I’m not saying this is completely the school’s fault, but it’s the closest thing to a standards compliant browser Microsoft has put out, so I want to make a case for it. Let’s talk about a few important features in IE8.

This one is specifically for web developers, so excuse me while go on a rant. IE8 now has developer tools (like both Firefox and Google Chrome), making it easier for web developers to debug websites in IE8. My prediction is that websites that were once a pain to fix for IE will become much easier to fix, which benefits everyone.

It’s also the most secure version of IE with pop-up blocks and a site scanner to protect the user from harmful sites. To put this in perspective, this scanner is an improvement on IE7’s scanner; IE6 doesn’t have a scanner or pop-up blocker, and is overall grossly outdated. I mention this because security is presented in the aforementioned email as a priority, yet by disabling the IE8 update users are left with a less secure browser.

I mentioned earlier that IE8 is the most standards compliant version of IE. What that means is a web developer needs to hack their sites less in order for it to work properly in IE8. I’ve seen this first hand, as many of my sites work without me making any additional fixes. This is not necessarily the University’s fault, but the fact that the tools we use on campus break in a better browser is unacceptable. If anything, support for arcane browsers like IE6 should be stopped. However, even if the site breaks in IE8 it has ‘compatibility mode’ which is essentially IE7, so the user should be able to run any site in compatibility mode and have it work. If it doesn’t, the site is substandard.

My point is this: there should really be no reason, whether you’re an institution or a developer, that the latest version of a browser like IE is not supported. Beta and early versions of IE8 came out in March 2008 and it went official last month. For the sake of their users, both parties should have check on support of IE8 a long time ago to make sure they were ready for its release.