March 3, 2008

Thanks Microsoft!

March 3, 2008, 10:16 PM | 0 Comments

I’ve purposefully stayed out of the much-debated decision that Microsoft had apparently made with IE 8 to use version targeting because I can honestly say that I see both sides to the argument and I don’t feel very strongly about either position. Today though, I’m breaking my silence on the topic because Microsoft has made an important decision.

In a complete reversal of their position, Microsoft today announced that IE 8’s new standards mode will be on by default. What this means is that developers will have to explicitly tell IE 8 to act like IE 7, not the other way around as had been previously planned.

This isn’t very important to me from an “is version targeting good or bad” point of view, but it’s showing a continued change from Microsoft – they’re actually listening to the web development community! So, hats off to Microsoft for being open, listening, and then making an informed decision. You’re slowly winning back the respect of designers and developers and the new-found transparency and focus on the standards community is refreshing.

I can now say, I’m really looking forward to what IE 8 will bring to the table – not because of this latest announcement, but because of the continued push inside Microsoft’s IE 8 team to have stronger standards support. That focus can only be good for all developers as Microsoft moves forward with IE 8.

Posted in: Technology, Web Development, Web Standards