Microsoft has been making some noise lately about the upcoming version of Internet Explorer, IE 9. While it’s still way to early to pass final judgment, some of the things that folks at Microsoft have been saying about version 9 have me wondering if Microsoft is missing an opportunity.
If you’ve heard anything Microsoft have said about IE 9, then you’ve probably also heard them say that the various web standards and performance benchmarks that everyone seems to care about do not necessarily reflect how browsers are used in the real world. Based on hearing this mantra stated repeatedly by various people and in various ways, I’ll be very surprised if IE 9 turns out to be very competitive in the aforementioned benchmarks.
I can see two alternate conclusions that can be drawn from this:
- Microsoft is focused on delivering a browser that works well in the real world, and artificial benchmarks are at most a minor concern.
- Microsoft realizes that Internet Explorer will not be competitive with the likes of Chrome anytime soon and all this “real world usage” talk is just spin.
Suppose that we give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that the first scenario is close enough to the truth. Can one really argue against being pragmatic? Would anyone be so foolish as to argue that Microsoft should focus on artificial benchmarks, possibly at the expense of “real world” performance? Hi, my name is Daniel…
The thing is, I think Microsoft has a bit of an image problem. I think many folks think “Microsoft” is synonymous with “moribund”. To be sure there is plenty of evidence that Microsoft is still trying hard and is still willing to take risks: Windows 7 is an unqualified success. The Microsoft Office UI reboot was a risk that seems to have paid off. Windows Phone 7 looks fantastic (but we have yet to see if fantastic is good enough -- it wasn’t for Zune). Then there is Natal, which will either be awesome or become the next Segway (a product practically killed by its own hype-machine).
On the other hand, there are also plenty of reminders of that “other” Microsoft, the one that seems lazy and out-of-touch. And currently Internet Explorer is definitely one of those reminders. Considering that Microsoft is the largest software company in the world, and makes the very platform on which Internet Explorer runs and considering that Internet Explorer is a flagship product, the situation is a bit embarrassing, I think.
The next version of IE is therefore an opportunity to surprise and impress, to convince the people still sitting on the fence that Microsoft, despite its occasional gaffes, is still a relevant, vibrant company…and sitting on the fence is darned uncomfortable anyway. One way Microsoft can do that is by making a browser that doesn’t have to apologize or make excuses for its performance or support for web standards.
What do you think?
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2 comments:
None of this matters. The web moves at light speed. IE development moves at the speed of the US postal system. It does not matter if IE9 is the best thing since peanut butter met jelly. Anything it brings to the table will be matched by the other browsers within a few short release cycles.
Then we'll be waiting another 2 years talking about all the goodies to be released in IE 10.
It doesnt matter, the web would have moved on by then.
Thanks for your comment. I agree that the slow pace of progress is serious problem. Of course, Microsoft hasn't had much motivation to make progress until recently. Also, I think that as time goes by and the number of features increases and the user base grows, any project will slow its pace of progress. This works to the benefit of Chrome and Firefox today, but I think the advantage will diminish over time. In fact, I think Firefox is struggling to keep pace with Chrome for the same reason.
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