37signals to Drop IE6 Support

I think this says more about their customer base than it does about the state of IE6 in the market as a whole. There are <i>lots</i> of IE6 users still out there, many of whom are using corporate installations that they can't upgrade. If 37signals (did I spell it right?) doesn't need that market, more power to them. But the reality is that better browsers just aren't as simple as providing a list of "click here" installation links.

You know, I do not write software for Windows 2000. They are about 10% of my market, but I don't bother testing on 2000, because I choose to focus on the XP and up market. Nobody even questions this policy or finds it controversial. Why should a website not also decide to focus on 90% of its users so that it can make a better product?

Apple will also be dropping IE6 support in their upcoming MobileMe service. A very consumer oriented product.<p><a href="http://www.tuaw.com/2008/06/23/mobileme-browser-requirements-page-found/" rel="nofollow">http://www.tuaw.com/2008/06/23/mobileme-browser-requirements...</a>

Since 37signals makes an API available for most of its services, it would be theoretically possible for someone to come along and build an alternative IE6 compatible front-end to 37signals' products. I expect, however, no-one will, demonstrating that there is no economic reason to support it.

Many sources [1] show that IE6 still has more global usage than IE7. Though I'm sure 37signals' userbase is not represented well by global data, turning away users of perhaps the most popular version of the most popular browser is an interesting move.<p>[1] <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_web_browsers" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_web_browsers</a>

God, I didn't realize IE6 hit the streets in 2001. What is it that makes corporate cultures so slow in upgrading to IE7, especially if they are locked into the Windows platform?

Those guys are lucky to be able to do that. Our user base is still 35% IE6.

I just think that it's funny that this announcement comes on the heels of the "features are a one way street" posting...not that IE6 is a feature of any kind of course.

Its well worded. I imagine the original drafts would have been pretty harsh on IE6 (although 2001 - that was a LOOONG time ago, to be fair).

say that to mainstream users!

How I wish I could do that as well.

<i>Why are we making this change? IE 6 is a last-generation browser. This means that IE 6 can't provide the same web experience that modern browsers can.</i><p>For example?<p>If I didn't know any better, I'd think that this was the same old "IT B.S." that we've been listening to for 30 years. You have to upgrade for our convenience but we tell you that it's for yours.<p>I know of many companies that don't want to pay maintenance. They say, "I don't want any upgrades and I don't want to pay for them. It works perfectly now. If I want anything to change, I'll ask for it and I'll pay for it. Why should this be any different that anything else that I own?"<p>Is this move for the benefit of the supplier or the customer?<p>Honestly, I've constantly see remarks that say you're lame or old fashioned if you still use IE6, but I sure would like to hear one of these posts provide some concrete data <i>why</i>. (And please don't say tabs or extensions, those are features many do not see a need for.)

This is just laziness. They should support IE6 until it is the minority of installs on all machines.<p>37signals has always extolled the mantra of usability. But, this move puts them entirely against that. You need to work within the constraints of the user, and one of them, unfortunately, is IE6.