I've used Mozilla a lot and I really like it. I've yet to find a page
that gives it problems, in fact, it's more stable than IE. From an
accessibility point of view, it beats IE hands down if only for the text
zoom option. I still use IE of course, I have to given that the majority
of people look at our pages using that browser.
I have to say I don't like Opera. I find the GUI clunky and unintuitive,
and those ads are SO annoying (and there's no way I'd pay for the
non-ad version).
To address Sally's point, I think that saying that you have to code for
version 3 browsers because of disability guidelines actually misses the
point. That's not how the disability guidelines should be
interpreted - users do have some responsibility to make sure they have the
equipment they need. If that weren't the case, a blind user could sue you
because they didn't have a screen reader set up and you haven't embedded
sound files thoughout your site.
To take a more extreme example, imagine someone who can't walk but doesn't
have a wheechair suing an organisation because they won't provide a member
of staff to carry them everywhere, even though the organisation HAS had
ramps and lifts installed.
Using old browsers is not a disability.
Kat
________________________________________
Dr Kat Street
Web Developer - Research
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~ulzkls/
Room B105, Cripps North
University of Nottingham
University Park, NG7 2RD
Tel: 0115 9513222
Fax: 0115 9513353
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
_______________________________________
On Fri, 12 Jul 2002, Brian Kelly wrote:
| Hi Sheila
| As Kriss and Sally have mentioned, institutions are still running
| Netscape 4. There are resource implications in upgrading browsers,
| especially in a distributed environment.
| Interestingly at the Web Managers workshop the need to get rid of
| Netscape 4 within the community was mentioned on several occasions,
| including the Techies discussion group.
| With the SENDA legislation approaching, this may act as a spur to get
| rid of Netscape 4, as this has very poor support for stylesheets, which
| are needed to maximise the accessibility of Web pages.
| However this still leaves open the browser which should replace
| Netscape 4. From recent discussions, Netscape 6 is flawed (I think
| Kriss mentioned that it can't display Netscape home page properly).
| Mozilla 1.0 sounds promising - but so did Netscape 6 when it came out.
| Has anyone tested it extensively yet?).
| I've used Opera as my default browser for 6 months or so. This has
| been fine - but there is an ad in the browser which people may not like.
| Discusions about other mainstream browsers tends to be rather
| emotive.
| The Web Standards project is probably a good place to look at for
| comments on standards-compliant browsers - see
| http://www.webstandards.org/act/campaign/buc/
|
| Brian
| ---------------------------------------
| Brian Kelly
| UK Web Focus
| UKOLN
| University of Bath
| BATH
| BA2 7AY
| Email: [log in to unmask]
| Web: http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/
| Phone: 01225 38 3943
|
| > -----Original Message-----
| > From: List for the UK HE community to discuss all aspects of
| > managing an institut [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
| > On Behalf Of Sheila Thomas
| > Sent: 12 July 2002 13:38
| > To: [log in to unmask]
| > Subject: Usage of Netscape 4 and/or MSIE 4
| >
| >
| > A while ago, I recall reading or hearing that a considerable
| > number of UK academic users were still using a version 4
| > browser. Our software people are pushing me to stop bothering
| > about making our pages suitable for use on such antiquated
| > browsers. Our usage logs indicate that we have very few
| > visitors with MSIE 4 or Netscape 4, so it is getting harder
| > to resist the pressure.
| >
| > Can anyone give me an idea whether academic institutions have
| > upgraded?
| >
| > --
| > Sheila Thomas [log in to unmask]
| > Web Manager at TWI
| > http://www.twi.co.uk
| >
| > _____________________________________________________________________
| > The information in this e-mail is confidential, and may be
| > legally privileged. It is intended only for the person(s)
| > specified in the above address. Access to this e-mail by
| > anyone else is unauthorised, and any disclosure, copying,
| > distribution or other use of this e-mail is prohibited and
| > may be unlawful. We will not under any circumstances have
| > any responsibility or liability arising out of or in
| > connection with any unauthorised use of this e-mail. Please
| > inform us if this message has gone astray before deleting it.
| >
| > Please note that all e-mail is monitored.
| >
| > When sending e-mails to TWI, please help us by including your
| > name, company, and details in your e-mail signature.
| >
| > For further information about TWI, please visit http://www.twi.co.uk
| >
| > _____________________________________________________________________
| > This message has been checked for all known viruses by UUNET
| > delivered through the MessageLabs Virus Control Centre. For
| > further information visit
| > http://www.uk.uu.net/products/security/virus/
| >
|
|