As if you didn’t already need more proof that continuing to strongly support a internet browser that was released on August 27, 2001 is not just wrong, it’s borderline corrupt — here comes more proof.
Not one, but four remotely exploitable vulnerabilities:
I can’t believe how the IT shops and web development shops continue to put up with this travesty of a piece of software. I know exactly how it happens, because I’ve been right in the thick of it, but it still boggles my mind how we (the IT industry we) accept this.
I understand that writing browser software is incredibly difficult. I’ve touched enough web applications, and written software on Windows — I completely understand how hard this is. But the software is now over 5 years old, continues to have critical security problems, lost productivity, lockups and very little support for the modern web features that everyone is clamoring for. I equally understand the challenge of IT shops to try and upgrade their desktops with browser that’s so core to windows that bugs in the browser actually can cause windows lockups when the browser hangs on bad html/css/javascript. (Safari can do this on the Macintosh too, usually it stays isolated to Safari though) — but this should be mission #1 for the Windows shops out there, getting rid of IE 6.
In any other engineering industry there would be class action lawsuits galore, and product safety commissions all over a product like this — and heads would be rolling all over the place for shops still encouraging and targeting its use. Imagine a child seat, or swing, or car, or microwave, or any product this bad. You can’t, because any other company in any other industry would have been sued into oblivion.
Really, collectively, when are we going to stop putting up with this? (and yes, I am as pot/kettle/black on that as anyone, I’ve done my part on the things I can directly control though).