Kill IE

Why you should dump Internet Explorer

Compatibility

Internet explorer is not compatible with the W3C web standards. Instead, Microsoft offer their own solutions, totally ignoring the standards set by the W3C. Web standards insure that any page written according to the standards should work on any standards compatible browser, no double work required to make it work with one browser or another. but Internet Explorer is NOT standards compliant. This means that every web developer has to go through double trouble to make a page work both for Internet Explorer and standards compliant browsers, -or- give up on the standards and develop Internet Explorer-only sites, which Is what Microsoft wants them to do.

So, by using Internet Explorer you are supporting Microsoft in ignoring the standards, thus making web developers work double to get a usable web page.

Q: Why should I care? It works fine for me.
A: Right now, they are some pretty advanced technologies (including CSS 2) that can move the web forward, and change your browsing experience, these are internationally agreed standards on how the web should work. Microsoft, on the other hand, has their own set of solutions, which can only ever work with Internet Explorer. So in the meantime, both technologies can't be implemented, because they aren't supported by the each other, and the web is being held back from advancing to it's full potential.

Q: So maybe sites should be developed for Internet Explorer only, using the Microsoft technologies?
A: That would limit a users freedom of choice to decide which browser he wants to use, and totally cut off users of other operating systems such as Linux and Mac. anyways, it should be clear to you that internationally agreed standards should be used, not one company's technologies.

Q: But some sites just don't work properly with standards compliant browsers...
A: That's because they were built to work with Internet Explorer, not with standards. by using a standards compliant browser, you are forcing these sites to take standards into consideration, and rebuild their sites to conform with the W3C Web standards.

Q: But Microsoft say that they're trying...
A: Nonsense, If smaller developer teams such as the Mozilla and Opera development teams were able to get their browsers to comply with the standards, It's hard to believe that Microsoft, a multi-billion dollar company, wasn't able to do the same.

Security

How many times have you read about another security hole in Internet Explorer? some Internet Explorer technologies such as ActiveX and Active Scripting make it easier for malicious software, such as spyware and viruses, to be installed on your computer. Internet Explorer also has some other issues that risk your computer, just visit any security site, and even Microsoft's security update page, to se what I'm talking about.

Bonuses

Here are some cool features you can find In most standards compliant browsers, that will improve your browsing experience.

Pop-Up Blocking
Say good bye to all those annoying pop-ups

Tabbed Browsing
With tabbed browsing you can have more that one page open in one window, with easy to use tabs.

Alternatives

Mozilla / Mozilla Firefox

mozilla firefox These are standards-complient, open source browsers that use the gecko web engine, developed by the Mozilla team. versions are available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X
Mozilla Suite - Mozilla Firefox

Opera

opera This is a pretty cool, free standards compliant browser. you can get it Here. versions are available for almost every OS and platform you could emagine

Safari

safari This Is an awesome browser for Mac OS X, based On WebKit/khtml. More info Here.

Links

W3C - the group in charge of web standards
Stop Using Internet explorer!
US Government warns against Internet Explorer
Browse Happy
Spread Firefox - a site dedicated to spreading the firefox browser
Kill Bill's Browser - Another site explaining why IE you shouldn't use IE
Drop IE - And yet another
CSS Zen Garden - See what can be done with proper CSS styling.