Microsoft has stepped up the pace in browser development — and taken strong measures to deal with a legacy of browser problems.
This week at Microsoft’s MIX11 Web developer conference, the company surprised many by making a pre-release version of Internet Explorer 10 available—less than a month after IE9 came out in its final form. But another surprise was uncovered by Computerworld’s Gregg Keizer: the next IE won’t run on any OS before Windows 7, including Vista.
Microsoft took some heat when it came out that Internet Explorer 9 would leave millions of Windows XP users in the lurch, as the new browser would only run on Windows 7 and Vista. But the company confirmed that IE10 won’t even run on Vista. In a statement to Computerworld, the company said “Windows Vista customers have a great browsing experience with IE9, but in building IE10 we are focused on continuing to drive the kind of innovation that only happens when you take advantage of the ongoing improvements in modern operating systems and modern hardware.”
— Michael Muchmore @ PCMag.com
Via Slashdot, where sgbett assesses the matter thus:
“In seriousness, this is the best thing [Microsoft] could do. The debacle that has been backwards compatibility of windows and ie in there various combinations [have] been horrible. Best thing to do is get all those grotty old windows/ie users upgraded. They are like people who drive around on modern [roads] in clapped out unsafe jalopies.
