Corporate site update & HTML/CSS compliance
Yesterday the updated corporate website at www.laimbock.com was launched. Being a good Netizen I made sure the new site was HTML (4.01) and CSS compliant. Which I thought it was. That is, until I figured out that the W3 Validator service only grabs a single page and not an entire site. Meaning I had missed a few (ok, a lot of) things that made the site totally non-compliant. So I spent the majority of last night and tonight with fixing the site. I’m happy to say www.laimbock.com is now fully HTML 4.01 and CSS compliant.
Earlier today I read about Microsoft’s announcement that they will come up with Internet Explorer version 7 (IE7). The announcement itself is the typical Microsoft marketing speak we have come to expect from them. I guess it will be a cold day in Hell before Microsoft will acknowledge that they were forced to update their crappy Internet Explorer due to the landgrab of the much better Firefox browser. What is significant is the amount of comments (really tons of them) of web design, creative and other folks who all hoped that Microsoft would finally start to support proper W3 standards in their browser. And they do not mean the typical “embrace and extend” thing Microsoft usually does.
Frankly I hope Microsoft will see the light and will conform to industry (W3) standards in every aspect including their browser. It will make life so much easier for everybody involved in creating websites. And it will also create a more level playingfield for other browsers in the marketplace.
Obviously Microsoft knows their IE product can’t compete with Firefox or the fine Opera browser because Microsoft has neglected IE for years and will be playing catchup for a long time. If I understand the news coverage on this subject correctly IE7 will not be a new browser from the ground up. It will be IE6 with more bandaids, a bit of glossy sauce to hide that IE7 is basically IE6 plus security fixes and a few de facto, obiquitous features that IE had been lacking for years.
And if IE7 really is only an updated version of IE6 then I think chances are slim that Microsoft will have a browser that is W3 standards compliant any time soon. If only to protect their sliding marketshare. Care to bet?