IE 5 for MAC discontinued

Microsoft posted the following message to their landing page for IE for the Mac:

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR MICROSOFT INTERNET EXPLORER FOR MAC USERS

In June 2003, the Microsoft Macintosh Business Unit announced that Internet Explorer for Mac would undergo no further development, and support would cease in 2005. In accordance with published support lifecycle policies, Microsoft will end support for Internet Explorer for Mac on December 31st, 2005, and will provide no further security or performance updates.

Additionally, as of January 31st, 2006, Internet Explorer for the Mac will no longer be available for download from Mactopia. It is recommended that Macintosh users migrate to more recent web browsing technologies such as Apple's Safari.

So what does this mean? Well if you currently use an Apple computer and have Internet Explorer as your default browser you are in trouble. Microsoft will no longer support this version of the browser (ie no more patches, or security fixes!) and will also not be releasing any newer versions.

IE 5.5 for the Mac was the last Apple version of the browser to be released and it’s been a thorn in developers’ sides for many, many years. Basically it’s old and the engine which runs the browser code doesn’t have a lot of the stuff needed to fully enjoy or properly view web pages on the internet today.

Sure most of the sites will look fine to those visitors using the IE 5.5 browser but that’s only the case if the developer of that website took pain staking steps to ensure it would look good, or they limited the amount of newer technology they used to implement the site.

As a development group who likes to stay cutting edge, Digital Positions follows the lifecycle of all the browsers out there to ensure we don’t leave anyone behind. With this latest public notice (we’ve actually known this was coming for a long time) Digital Positions will no longer build websites which look appeasing and are 100% functional for those users who continue to use IE for the Mac, at no additional charge. We recommend Mac users find an alternative browser which satisfies there browsing needs, and is standards compliant. Our in-house recommendation is to go with Safari or Firefox, but the final choice is ultimately up to you.

For more information on what browsers Digital Positions does support when developing your website please contact our office.

For those of you who would like to find a complete list of product lifecycles for Microsoft products you can visit this site.

As for the ending of the IE for Mac era this web developer has one thing to say. “It’s been real, it’s been fun, but it hasn’t been real fun!”