How The Other Side Lives: CNET Reviews IE 8

The opening to Stephen Shankland's review of Internet Explorer 8 sums it up best:

In the interest of broadening my horizons, I promised Microsoft I'd give Internet Explorer 8 a fair shake by trying the browser as my default for a week.

And, boy, am I glad that week is over.

He goes on to mention that IE still isn't in the same class as his preferred browsers, Firefox and Chrome (can we hurry up with that Mac version of Chrome, please?). Still, from the "It couldn't get worse" files, Shankland recommends current IE 7 users upgrade due to increased security features. Overall though, the sluggishness of the interface, gave him pause (literally), and made him long for his browsers of choice.

Being April Fool's Day and all, I have a foolish proposal for Microsoft: bring IE back to the Mac. Just for fun, as we say around here.

Nice Guys Finish Last: Safari Use Triples On The PC

In a further confirmation that nice guys finish last, do you remember the concerns some raised about the PC iTunes updater that presented Safari as a software update? Some people cried foul, others said it was only right to fight fire with fire. Well, it turns out the software update escapade got results. As reported by AppleInsider, Safari's PC marketshare tripled. Now granted we're talking about moving from .07% to .21% of the market, but still, it's a significant increase.

However, if Apple's serious about making Safari a competitive browser, there's something they could do that would change the browser landscape overnight. Are you sitting down? Advertise for Safari. Yes, that's right, a full media push for Safari. Not since the heyday of Netscape has someone turned on the TV and saw and ad for a browser, or even free software, for that matter. With roughly $20 Billion in cash, devoting just 1/500th of that money to a Safari campaign could yield incredible results. It doesn't matter if the browser is the greatest in the world (Firefox is dang good) if people aren't first in the mindset to change browsers. When do you think the average PC user last thought about trying a different browser? Anyone who's even considered it has moved to Firefox. iPod and iPhone, and iTunes marketing has reached a saturation point. If a PC user doesn't know about an iPod by now, they never will. Safari, on the other hand, is something new. And the price is right. So rather than spend precious engineer hours pushing Safari through an iTunes update, why not spend the effort and resources on results that will make .21% pale in comparison.

True, unlike iPod marketing, there's not an immediate financial gain from a Safari ad campaign, but imagine a world in which Firefox and Safari comprise more than 50% of the browser market. Imagine what Apple could do in promoting QuickTime (which is somewhat dead in the water outside of iTunes lately) as the default media player on the web (again.) All those frustrating sites that use Windows Media 10 DRM, and therefore don't play nice with the Mac could re-consider if Apple could give them a more dominant solution.

If marketshare continues to rise .14% per month, it will take a LONG time to reach Internet Explorer numbers. Go for it, Apple. Spend the money, or don't even bother with Safari for Windows.