When it comes to talking about the state of web development, specifically with respect to Internet Explorer, I think that the phrase “beating a dead horse” is an understatement.
Sure, IE9 is shaping up to be a great browser, but we’ve still got three versions to contend with and they aren’t going to go away once IE9 is actually released.
But there’s hope: Google Chrome Frame has officially entered beta. More details after the jump!
If you’re not familiar, Google Chrome Frame is a plug-in for Internet Explorer that brings the rendering technology of Google Chrome to IE.
Not only does this mean that you can develop your pages with a little less focus on IE-specific code, but that you get access to new HTML5 elements such as video, svg, and canvas.
To be clear, this isn’t a new technology used by a few small websites:
As we’ve worked on these improvements, we’ve been excited to see sites adopting Google Chrome Frame, including Meebo and all the blogs hosted by WordPress.
In addition to our launch partner Google Wave, some other Google properties, including Orkut and YouTube are also relying on Google Chrome Frame to deliver HTML5 experiences to millions of users.
So, what are your thoughts? Have any of you used Chrome Frame (or will you be using it)?
Jared Erickson says
sounds like a great idea.. but still not going to solve the problem. if a user is still using ie7 or heaven forbid ie6 it’s pretty likely they have no clue about this since they don’t even know to update to ie8+ Microsoft has done one thing really well… made “updates” scary for end users.
benrwoodard says
What do you mean by “scary for end users” ?
Jared Erickson says
made more sense in my head. basically people see the “update” popups and ignore them because MS has made updating such a daunting task..
Tom says
One thing I really dig is that if your application includes the Chrome Frame libraries, IE users are prompted to install the plug or recommended to use one of the more updated browsers.
Try to load Wave in IE. If you don’t install Chrome Frame (or use another browser), you can’t access it.