On Tue, 12 Feb 2002, Brian Kelly wrote:
> A major issue is what to do for those with legacy browsers -
> especially those which have bugs and do not degrade gracefully (e.g.
> Netscape 4 with CSS).
I think part of the problem with this is that both the OS and the software
tend to get larger and larger and to require greater processing power
with each new version. The reason I downloaded Opera rather than an old
version of NN or IE is that you can get all the functionality of a
well-designed modern browser but you can choose to download it without
javascript so you don't end up with a very large program taking up half
your memory.
I know nothing about programming, but I wonder if we've become locked into
this system of constant updates for commercial reasons. It benefits the
software and hardware suppliers but not the users IMO. And is it
reasonable to expect an expensive piece of kit like a computer to become
functionally redundant in 18 months - 2 years? Would you find it
acceptable if your fridge or tv (which probably cost less) needed to be
replaced every 3 years? It seems like a huge waste of resources to me.
Maybe some of this problem could be resolved by using more efficient
systems, which would in turn ensure that they remained accessible to those
users with less up to date machines. I don't know.
> To say we shouldn't go down the CSS/PNG/SMIL/SVG/ etc. route is to
> deny services which are clearly needed by many.
True.
> So how do you see ourselves moved to a richer, more robust, more
> accessible Web?
Perhaps one way would be to have a slimline browser and allow people to
pick and choose the functions that were necessary to them. This in turn
means that people need to think about the design of their pages and not
assume eg that everyone has javascript. Or maybe there's some way of
incorporating this new technology into a browser that isn't hugely
bloated, then persuading HEs to use that instead of either NN or IE.
Kriss
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