Google to axe IE 8 support, cuts off Windows XP lifeline

Google confirmed late last week that it would soon be killing off support for Microsoft's now aged browser, Internet Explorer 8, which also means it no longer gives a stuff about Windows XP hold-outs. The company said in a blog post on Friday that it would discontinue support for IE 8 on 15 November, claiming the move was …

[Pen-y-gors]

Silly old google!

IE8 is not the latest-but-2 version for XP users - it's the latest! And it does seem silly to cut off support for 39% of the planet...XP works perfectly well for an awful lot of people, who do normal everyday computery-type things on their computers (bit of browsing, bit of word-processing, spreadsheets etc), and who leave their stalking activities (if any) for their mobiles.

[HMB]

Re: Silly old google!

http://gs.statcounter.com/#browser_version_partially_combined-ww-monthly-201108-201208:

IE8 Worldwide: 13.65%

IE8 UK: 10.99%

You... you... exagerationalist.

[Anonymous Coward]

silly old statcounter

You can add one to the XP count since I block statcounter (and they are not alone). Admittedly, I only run XP as a VM...for a short list of applications that require Microsoft Windows.

Of course, this means I'll have to install a Windows 7 VM...

[GNoMe]

Re: Silly old google!

http://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10&qpcustomd=0

Windows 7 42.76%

Windows XP 42.52%

Windows Vista 6.15%

[Colin Millar]

Re: Silly old google! @HMB

OH RTFA fer christs sake - its not that f***ckin' long

Hint: it's in the last sentence

[NogginTheNog]

Re: Silly old google!

Except, XP is itself the latest-but-THREE Windows operating system, and hasn't been exactly the latest *anything* for a long long time...

[Yes Me]

XP isn't the latest, but maybe the best

The problem, Mr TheNog, is that XP is without much doubt the best desk/laptop O/S Microsoft ever produced; Vista was unmentionable, Win 7 can be made to work just about as well as XP by switching off as many "improvements" as possible, and all that has been revealed about Win 8 makes it clear that it needs to be avoided at all costs. So I expect people to stick with XP as long as they possibly can.

Not that it matters if you just want to use Google for what it's good at and ignore all *their* "improvements.

[Dave 15]

Re: XP isn't the latest, but maybe the best

Windows 7 can't be made as good, sorry, its crap, all sorts of applications that worked on xp now just periodically die for no good reason, functionality is missing... its plain horrible. I want XP back

[Mark .]

Re: XP isn't the latest, but maybe the best

I prefer 7 to XP - faster to launch programs (just type the name at the start bar, rather than having to navigate through menus, or have dozens of shortcuts); faster to boot; better 64 bit support; seems more resistent to graphics driver crashes (a graphics driver crash on XP would crash the OS, where as 7 seems to be able to recover); better security model (programs no longer have permissions to do what they like), an additional side-benefit of which is that user data is now stored in user space rather than program folders, making it easier to back up.

I don't see what's wrong with Windows 8? Even if you aren't interested in the benefits (which aren't all to do with tablets, incidentally) and there's no point in upgrading, I don't see why it's worse? Honest question. I've tried the previews, and they work fine still with keyboard/mouse (you don't have to use the Metro stuff, and the start screen works just like the start menu in Windows 7, just giving you more space).

What about Windows 2000? I remember when XP came out, the geeks saying 2000 was much better than XP, which just had stuff that you had to turn off (and I myself ran 2000 for years, rather than XP). I find it funny that XP is now hailed as being the best MS OS...

Indeed, on that note I could say the same about the XP start menu, I find it odd the way this is now hailed as being some wonderful thing. I remember all the fuss from MS with Windows 95, and I couldn't see what was so good about it - just an awkward menuing system. I'm glad to see it replaced in Windows 7 with something that actually works well.

[Chris007]

Re: XP isn't the latest, but maybe the best @ Yes Me

Here's the fix for the first sentence

"The problem, Mr TheNog, is that XP *with SP3 installed* is without much doubt the best desk/laptop O/S Microsoft ever produced; "

XP until then had a lot of issues that people have forgotten about until SP3 (SP2 wasn't bad)

[anger]

Re: Silly old google!

Or just install proper browser and you'll be fine.

[Tom 35]

Re: Silly old google!

It's too bad you can't install Chrome or FireFox on XP...

[Test Man]

Re: Silly old google!

Who cares? IE5 is the latest for Windows 98 users - do you also think Google needs to provide support for them also?

[Anonymous Coward]

@Test man

With the small difference that XP is still officially supported by Microsoft and Win98 has long been EOL'd.

[Test Man]

Re: @Test man

XP is end-of-life in less than two years and currently is on extended support (which isn't the same as full support). So I don't blame Google for getting rid of support for a browser that is two versions behind. Makes no difference if it's on a system that is currently used or not, IE8 is too old to support at the end of the day.

By getting rid of IE8 support, Google can concentrate on using newer standards for browsers that are actually available.

[Manu T]

Re: @Test man

What new standards?

You mean HTML5 which is enforced upon us to replace flash but which isn't technically able to actually do so...

"stop behaving like we're still living in a pre-Facebook-Twitter-iPad 2001"

Demeaning comments like the above will only fuell the resistance to switch even more.

Well done, instead of constrictive articles you anger us, consumers, even more. And then you wonder why there is a recession.... tsssk tsssk tsssk.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Silly old google!

Funny, this announcement comes just before the official release of windows 8! I wounder how much money went from Microsoft to Google?

[LinkOfHyrule]

Re: Silly old google!

I use XP - because frankly as far as I can tell, it does (well soon to be did) pretty much everything I need a computer to do and the more recent versions don't add any thing for me.

So why the f@#k would I upgrade? Because I wish to have less money, because I like wasting time installing apps and pissing about with hard-disks? No!

That would be like buying a Barrett home's one bedroom starter home and burning down your lovely four story Georgian town house because it's a bit old now!

Microsoft's and Google's view seems to be, lets just build a great big f@#king toll motorway through the site of your lovely Georgian town house so you'll be forced to live in a toy town Barrett shit box made of MDF and builders spittle! That'll learn ya!

People are still on XP because it's actually quite good (for a piece of useless shite) you should of made it more like ME if you wanted people to abandon it sooner!

Mine's the one hanging on a beautifully crafted mahogany coat hook in the hallway but which will soon be hanging on an IKEA plastic coat hook on the back of the living room door due to having had my house forcibly 'upgraded'.

[RICHTO]

Re: Silly old google!

Lifeline?! LOL.

No one needs Google these days. Outlook.com and Skydrive are better than anything Google offers.....

[Cronus]

Misleading as ever

Google has not abandoned XP users at all. It has abandoned all the numpties who are daft enough to be using IE. Anyone with the brains to have switched to another browser like firefox or chrome will be just fine.

[Bod]

Re: Misleading as ever

Sadly there are some corporates who stick with XP and also block other browsers from being installed so you can only use XP and IE.

[HMB]

Re: Misleading as ever

Google is doing their bit to force a move on, it's a good thing. There's only so long a big corporation can hold an increasingly ludicrous policy for.

[Manu T]

Re: Misleading as ever

"There's only so long a big corporation can hold an increasingly ludicrous policy for."

You don't get it, do you?

Corporations won't give a fuck whether, end-users, can access Google or not. They require that browser for particular in-house developed web-content. As long as they need to use that software they will never switch.

If a single employee in th company suddenly can't access some google services, so what? As long as they can access Google search (the most used and core component of Google) it's no big deal. As for google+ or Gmail services... these are for home users and should stay at home, not on the workfloor. In fact, Google makes the job for IT-managers easier. Now we don't have to ban access to these non-corporate services anymore, they do it themselves, woahahahah! Idjits!

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Misleading as ever

@Manu T

"Corporations won't give a fuck whether, end-users, can access Google or not. They require that browser for particular in-house developed web-content. As long as they need to use that software they will never switch."

You are correct but what about the next zero day vuln that comes around AFTER MS no longer supports XP? At some point a company is going to have to spend the money and these companies you are supporting right now will have a world of hurt on their hands. They sat on their ass for years and only changed when they were forced and will obviously run into major issues getting a new OS and set of applications working and their internal sites supported. Can't feel sorry for them when they had years to plan; technically that would be *close* to a decade by the time MS pulls support for XP.

[keith_w]

Re: Misleading as ever

Some of them are still sticking with IE6 due to never having updated their inhouse apps.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Misleading as ever

Who cares about those companies. They can go bankrupt and quit wasting people's time.

[Anonymous Coward]

@Bod - Re: Misleading as ever

Don't need to install anything. Portable versions of Firefox, Chrome and Opera are running just fine. I did this for years in order to preserve the purity of corporate crippled desktops at my workplace. My co-workers where even surprised to see I'm enjoying hassle-free browsing on some of the internal web sites they were told could not work with other than holy IE.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Misleading as ever

El Reg - What do you mean "cut off the lifeline for XP"??

For crying out loud, our corporate overlords still have us chained to **IE6** on XP, and we're still going strong!

[Gerhard den Hollander]

Re: Misleading as ever

those companies usually also block the google drive , google docs and other ``lets share all our private data with the cloud'' tools.

So no big loss there.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Misleading as ever

And in any case when did a text based search engine care about the browser it's running on? Or do some of you not block google scripts?

[Ammaross Danan]

Re: Misleading as ever

So IE8 users on XP may or may not be able to use Google Docs or YouTube. Gmail may eventually stop working 100% properly. Google search? I bet they keep IE8 alive on that due to marketing considerations. Nothing will outright break day1 with this "change." It may just partially break a year down the road after some new feature comes out. You act like it has the finality of a due-date for Apple pulling an app from the App Store or something.

[Forget It]

Firefox, Crome, Opera - they run on XP don't they?

[Paul Shirley]

yes, only IE will do. In some parallel universe

Oh dear. Forced to use 'some other browser'. Oh... not much of a disaster for us XP users after all.

[wowfood]

Oh no

I no longer have support for my XP machines IE, which I haven't used since forever... oh woe is me...

...

Oh crap we still use IE on xp at work. And they won't let us install third party browsers... FUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

[Nick Ryan]

Re: Oh no

It's not hard to run 3rd party browsers. Chrome installs in user space and not program files (not a good idea, re-merging of sodding data and apps, but this is the windows way) and there are quite a few options when it comes to running apps without installing them. "Portable Apps" being one of the most well known of these.

[Bod]

Re: Oh no

Certain companies have software that actively blocks even Portable Chrome. Doesn't just block things installed, but things that run. Sad, but that's my experience. Nuts for a developer who needs to test on multiple browsers but IT policy refuses to let you!

[keithpeter]

Re: Oh no

@Bod

Can't you get an account on one of those remote desktop sites like browsercam?

[sabroni]

@ Nick Ryan "this is the windows way"

no, it's not. It's the way Chrome gets round the (admittedly poor) windows security model. The windows way is to run an install program and stick the executable somewhere in the "program files" folder.

[TeeCee]

Re: @ Nick Ryan "this is the windows way"

Er, yes it is.

With admin authority you can install to the system "program files" and elect to have the new software usable by either you or everyone.

Grunt users may only install to the "program files" under their space[1] and only they can use software so installed.

It is the windows way, but it's relatively new and most install routines have yet to catch up.

[1] NB: This does not merge apps and data, they should still be held in seperate areas within the user's storage, with the application living under "program files", if the software is written correctly.

[Test Man]

Re: @ Nick Ryan "this is the windows way"

"It is the windows way, but it's relatively new and most install routines have yet to catch up."

Wrong. It's been that way since 200 (6 years ago). Not relatively new at all, seeing as we've already have THREE Windows OSes that use this model and most install routines have actually caught up,

[sabroni]

@ TeeCee and TestMan

but Google Chrome installs itself into the users AppData folder, not a users program files folder, so surely my original statement that this is not the windows way is correct? The clue is in the name....

[Manu T]

Re: Oh no

"ANY network admin that refuses to allow a modern browser deserves to be shot.""

Why? Because you can't access you non-corporate private gmail account? Actually you should be fired for doing other non-job-oriented stuff on your PC.

[Manu T]

Re: Oh no

"Oh crap we still use IE on xp at work. And they won't let us install third party browsers"

So... what do you think this will actually do? You'll still be able to access google search. It's just your gmail or google+ or other google 'services' that won't work... and since these don't belong on the workfloor anyway...

[Nosbod]

All of which means Google has finally signalled that it no longer cares about XP customers

Except they do because they continue to update Google Chrome for windows XP which will still work with Gmail etc.

[Charlie Clark]

Incorrect conclusion

which also means it no longer gives a stuff about Windows XP hold-outs

Er, no that is the case. Google will continue to support XP as long as say Firefox, Opera and Chrome still run on it.

Given that Google's decision to drop support for IE 6 did indeed lead to a decline in its use then it can be hoped that this will also happen with IE 8 and that Google will be more successful at this game than Microsoft. Though by "dropping support" doesn't necessarily mean that Google's sites will no longer work with IE 8.

Well done, Google.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Incorrect conclusion

So, by your logic, if Google drops support for IE...

[Charlie Clark]

Re: Incorrect conclusion

So, by your logic, if Google drops support for IE...

Even for users of Windows XP the sky doesn't fall in and the world doesn't end.

Google can afford to decide to drop support for whatever it wants. In theory the same is true for any website but due to Google's sheer size and prominence such a decision will make other people sit up.

Supporting IE 8 for a site is nothing like as difficult as supporting IE 7 and IE 6, indeed it will still be supported for a major site I work on after a relaunch. but there are still reasons why you might actively want to discourage site visitors from using it: lack of support for either SVG or Canvas and the very slow Javascript engine. Google has already explained how much faster Google Maps since they swtiched to Canvas as default. I suspect users of Google Mail. Docs and Maps will be most likely to notice any change. Presumably Google will nudge them in the direction of Chrome and Microsoft will only have itself to blame. Although MS might secretly be pleased if Google has succeeded where it has so far failed to dismally.

[Risky]

Corporate roll-out schedules

Alas we're on IE8 here that came with our more to Win 7 from WinXP/IE6 hell this year.

Not sure that IE9 will happen any time soon as every browser change requires retesting of a vast number of internal web-based apps. Of couse there is no need for them to have been web-based but that is another story.

[Callam McMillan]

Bad news for companies

Everybody is looking at this from the point of view that XP users wont be supported, but a lot of companies that have upgraded to Windows 7 still use IE8 since it is the last browser that still has any ability to support old IE6 web applications. Also, the default opinion of "Use another browser" only works when you have the ability to install software of your own choosing, but not so much when you have a System Admin with the keys who decides that your ability to use Googles goodies isn't a business priority.

In short, I can see why they're doing this, but it's a big middle finger to the enterprise market, who they are desperate to sign up to their Google Applications for Enterprise services.

[geoffbeaumont]

Re: Bad news for companies

Somehow, I doubt many companies with an IE8 only browser policy are seriously considering moving to a cloud based infrastructure...

[Charlie Clark]

Re: Bad news for companies

Not so sure about that. It's going to be increasingly difficult for IT departments to argue against installing alternative browsers when management pull out their I-pads and say: "look, it works on my pad, why not on my desktop?".

It's taken a while but Mozilla's ESR (Enterprise Service Release) is starting to gain traction in the corporate space and I'm sure Google would be prepared to provide something similar to corporates interested in Google Docs.

[keith_w]

Re: Bad news for companies

No it's not.. all they have to do is fire up the all imporatant Oracle app on the I-pad and go, no it doesn't.

[Bod]

What does not supporting really mean for the end user though?

By not supporting, does this just mean everything works but they just won't deal with any problems you have, or will the Google home page just not even load? Or something in-between.

[Steve the Cynic]

Re: What does not supporting really mean for the end user though?

It'll be like it is if you have an old version of Firefox - you get an annoying bar across the top of gmail that hides the buttons. You know, the ones that appear and disappear, depending on stuff, which leads one, at a casual glance, to conclude that there is no way to delete messages in gmail. (Well, if you could do it, there'd be a disabled button, right? Apparently not.)

[Callam McMillan]

Re: What does not supporting really mean for the end user though?

I would imagine, given what happened after they stopped supporting IE6, that when they stop support, everything will still work, but as they introduce new features, they may not function properly, or the layout may not format properly in the browser, but the major functionality should still work. When they do a rare major redesign though, then everything may break on an unsupported browser.

All of this really only affects their web applications. The Google homepage is such simple HTML really that it should be supported on virtually any browser.

[Shades]

What is this...

...Internet Explorer that you all speak of? Oh, hang on... Wasn't it that overly elaborate tool you (only) used to download an actual browser with?

[Ken Hagan]

Re: What is this...

More like "What is this Google you speak of? Oh, hang on, wasn't it that company that tried to get me to keep all my valuable data on their servers (including the email records I'm obliged to keep by law) without so much as a backup policy?"

For me, "Google" is https://www.google.co.uk and I'm sure this will continue to work on XP even in the unlikely event that I use IE8 as my browser.

[Rob Carriere]

Re: What is this...

It was also quite useful to force a fresh installation to get its updates NOW, as opposed to well after it got compromised. But, quite overly elaborate for those functions, I agree.

[Anonymous Coward]

Translation

"We will not support IE8"

What they are really trying to say is:

"we want you to install Chrome, so we can track you better"

[Charlie Clark]

Re: Translation

I think you need a new geek-user dictionary!

IE doesn't support SPDY and either SVG or Canvas and has a very slow JS engine.

Google is very interesting in having its websites seem fast as that encourages their use and, therefore, ad sales. Even if most of the support for IE has already been done, being able to drop it for future stuff will make the development and test cycle a lot shorter.

[Anonymous Coward]

XP

XP is getting on in years, but it still runs well on my Netbook, which given my Touchpad's suicide has been recommissioned into service. Works well with browsing, older games (TW PGA 2003 still gets a play) and office docs, all on an Atom with 1.5GB RAM. Vista is a no-no, I've tried a Windows 7 netbook and it is also painful.

Of course, as soon as it fired up Firefox it updated to the latest version, IE only getting used by those MS-centric applications that insist that it is used to open URLs.

[Ol'Peculier]

32% of our Windows IE users last month used IE8

Mind you, 338 people used IE6.

If this gets people to upgrade, then hurrah. Getting it past corporate policy maybe not.

[RonWheeler]

Google Docs on IE sucks anyway

IE8 plus any sort of large document in Docs equals endless javascript timeout errors. Marginally less bad in 9, but Chrome is the way to go for heavy use of the blingier Google sites.

[GreyCells]

And other browsers...?

I'm not that knowledgeable about Windows, but can't you just install Chrome or Firefox et al on XP?

[Anonymous Coward]

What is Windows?

Title says it all.

[magnetik]

"Google explained the reasoning behind its decision by pointing out that it was standard procedure for the Chocolate Factory to part company with the third-oldest version of a browser."

So that'll mean docs will only work with Chrome version 20 or later, right? (For another month or two anyway)

[Annihilator]

Confusing..

I recall a time when MS claimed that IE was embedded so deeply into XP that it was intrinsically linked with the OS. As I understand it, even today just having IE installed can leave the OS open to intrusion regardless of whether you use a different browser.

To remedy, just try and uninstall IE8 from an XP installation. Note that you'll have to uninstall SP3 first, then remove IE8, then reinstall SP3. Easy!

[Ken Hagan]

Re: Confusing..

Your understanding is wrong, but no more so than Microsoft's original claim. (That is, both are complete and utter tosh, but you at least have the excuse that you aren't familiar with the OS and aren't submitting your comment under oath in court.)

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Confusing..

Bullshit you can uninstall IE 8 just use Add/Remove programmes what you cannot remove is the one that came on you PC that is IE7/6/5 no remove/change button

[Annihilator]

Re: Confusing..

re: the "bullshit" a/c comment. I didn't say you couldn't uninstall IE8, just that it was a convoluted process:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950719

[Mike Flugennock]

"a pre-Facebook-Twitter-iPad 2001"

...In other words, XP stick-in-the-muds need to finally get with the programme and stop behaving like we're still living in a pre-Facebook-Twitter-iPad 2001...

Y'know, it may seem silly, but the more I contemplate that concept, the better it sounds.

(...and mind you, I've been using a Mac since early '85, and Firefox since about '06, so it's not like I have a dog in that fight...)

[Dave 15]

Wish I could go back

Then I could do a find in files without trawling the net or writing my own application to do that simple function that some microsoft knob decided to remove.

[Anonymous Coward]

Seriously?

C'mon XP users, it's time to let go of your legacy OS, or stop complaining when companies like Adobe and Google move forward with the rest of the planet and develop new and exciting features that leverage a modern computing platform.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Seriously?

Unfortunatly Windows 7 doesn't work as well with my analog TV as windows XP does in this so called theater mode. So I'll stick with XP until that TV breaks down.

And because I fail to see why I should just dump that TV for a full HD flatscreen to view mostly SD-crapisodes and SD-crapverts. Not to mention that the (SD) Divx stuff that I download looks much better on a CRT anyway.

[waffler]

Re: Seriously?

Why should I throw away my existing computers and buy new ones (Windows 7 is too large and slow to run on my existing PCs)? What a waste of resources. I can do what I need to do with what I have, I don't need to have the latest and greatest in this throw away society.

[John McCallum]

Re: Seriously?

So sorry but at the time of writing I cannot justify the expense mortgage comes first maybe this time next year.

[Maty]

IE is not XP

Every now and then I use IE8, usually to check how a webpage I've built looks online, though emulators have gotten so good I hardly do even that any more.

This morning, as every morning, I fired up two computers at the same time, my own running XP, and a workmate's running Vista. I was answering my email before the Vista comp had got past the splash screen.

If Google ever did abandon XP I'd rather abandon google than downdate my computer to an inferior later OS.

[Anonymous Coward]

"XP stick-in-the-muds need to finally get with the programme "

Why?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: "Why? "

To make money for MS.

No other reason.

<--- of course, there are alternatives

[Hooksie]

Time to nut up or shut up

Let's face it people, Windows XP is OOOOOOOLLLLLLLLD. So old in fact that there have now been 3 versions of Windows since it was released (including Windows 8). Now, yes, we all know that Vista was a bit of a hiccup but you know what, once you got to SP2 it was actaully pretty good. Windows 7 is absolutely awesome and will be the next XP, won't be able to get rid of it for years. But even Windows 8, despite my inital concerns will, I submit, be a HUGE success (cos it's just lovely - seriously, I love it). Time to let go of XP and admit that it's slow, clunky and a little bit over the hill. Yes, big financial institutions will want to keep XP, hell, most of them have NT and Windows 2000 machines lying around, but for the rest of us, GET A GRIP!! Move to Windows 8 and after a couple of days you'll never go back.

[Manu T]

Re: Time to nut up or shut up

"Move to Windows 8 and after a couple of days you'll never go back."

I'll correct that for ya'

Move to Windows 8 and after a couple of days you'll SCREAM to get back!

[Anonymous Coward]

Desperate Microsoft wants planned obsolescence to push people to Windows 8.

Doesn't matter. Windows 8 will still be a flop.

AOL (1996) vs Win8 (2012)

http://i.imgur.com/3mF7a.jpg

Also, IE, any version, is still a crappy browser. Less crappy is still crap.

Use a proper browser, Webkit or Gecko or Opera's Presto rendering engine are better than IE's Trident rendering engine.

Lastly, web developers should conform to open web standards and stop becoming Microsoft's bum boy. The days of 'Best viewed on Internet Explorer' for websites are over.

[Spanners]

I have a fair solution

Drop support for all versions of IE.

For a period of time, anyone running any variation of it gets a message telling them that they really need to get a modern browser. They can then list some - perhaps Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari and so on.

Then have a countdown page. Anyone who insists on, or is forced to continue with it gets a counter that fills their page until it has reached zero. The message about using a 21st century browser could continue while this happens. As time progresses, the countdown could get longer.

When it has got long enough, the page could then just turn to a fixed message and that is the end of it.

[John McCallum]

Re: I have a fair solution

A very good way to piss of your customers that is and a very good way to make sure they don't come back

[Mr_Happy]

Lots of Work for IT

Looks like we are going to be busy installing Chrome on our users PCs and then training them to use IE for all our business apps that only run in IE8 and only use Chrome for Google Apps. Getting them to understand to use different browsers for different tasks is going to be a big up hill battle

[Anonymous Coward]

Easy solution

Don't use google apps. (They are not obligatory.)

[Bucky 2]

SNI

One thing I don't see mentioned...

No version of IE on Windows XP supports SNI. So if you want an SSL website viewable on Windows, you EITHER have to require a newer Windows operating system, or else still use XP, but with a browser with its own SSL implementation built-in (like anything BUT IE on XP).

That's what I hear when Google says it's not "supporting" IE8. I hear somebody's finally rolling out SNI in a big way.

Yeah, IE8 has its own rendering problems, SOME of which are fixed in IE9, but I don't see that as a hairy deal.

Also, the issue that you can't use YouTube at some place of employment or other because of some restriction of Google's is a complete red herring. To such people I say GET BACK TO WORK.

[Ron Christian]

um, why switch?

Anyone else think the article talked down to us a bit?

For those of us for which Windows is just a program loader and resource manager, XP still works fine. I have three or four apps that need Windows to load. The latest versions still work fine on XP. What is the justification for upgrading? Microsoft is threatening to stop supporting it? Who cares? I'm behind a firewall, and I have a good third party antivirus, and I've seldom gotten useful technical support from Microsoft anyway. (Most valuable help has been from user forums.)

If I get another year out of my current box, that gives developers one more year to port my apps or equivalents to android. And then, goodbye Microsoft. If that doesn't work out, there's always Windows 9 (NOT 8.)

[Henry Wertz 1]

Use a better browser

Use a better browser, problem solved. I'm not going to chew anyone out for using XP instead of 7, because 7 is not any better (you should switch to a better OS if you're going to bother switching at all, not just a newer one.) But IE has never been a good browser, and still isn't too good*. Almost any other browser on the market (Opera, Firefox, and Chrome for sure) are faster, more standards compliant, and have had better security track records; and all are available for XP

*The last review I saw of IE10, it was much better than IE9 but still both slower and less standards-compliant than any other browser they compared it too, besides it's obvious lack of cross-platform support.

[Anonymous Coward]

Support? For screens of text?

How can it be so difficult as to be particularly browser dependent?

OK, so I admit to not being a web developer, but if it is, then I suspect google have made it that way.

[Corborg]

Oh good

Does this mean it will stop pushing toolbars like crack in every unrelated download on the internet?

They are making up for it already, the latest Adobe Reader update includes a Google Chrome installer which is ticked by default.

Microsoft is a far nicer company in its current position. (Ignoring the entire history of the company and the fact that it used the same tactics in the past I know, I know...)

[Nick Galloway]

Goodbye Google...Hello Bing!

There are more search engines out there than just Google. I find Microsoft's Bing to provide some very nice results with an absence of ads. If Google wants to reduce its marketshare by being the bully boy then all I can do is vote with my finger(s) (nominally raised middle digit).

Still with XP as it does what I want to do and does it well. Why change for the sheer sake of it?

[Anonymous Coward]

I drive an old car

I can haz indefinate manufacturer warranty and support?

[buyone]

Re: I drive an old car

Don't drive n type cos you can't fink.

[Nameless Faceless Computer User]

It's just software

WinXP is software, not a banana. If it were a banana it would get old, rot, and die. It's software. There's nothing wrong with "old" software.

[Anonymous Coward]

Google Docs

Google Docs doesn't appear to work properly on IE8, IE9 or even Firefox anyway. Most of the funcitonality it ok but we've experienced functionality issues on any other browser except Chrome......funny that....

[Zombieman]

The article fails to mention it is Google *Apps* that is dropping IE 8, not Google as a whole... Also as for cutting off XP lifeline... Well just compare the XP vs Win7 usage share against the usage share of various IE versions that various commenters have posted then it's fairly clear that many of the XP holdouts are not using IE anyway. ;)

[Anonymous Coward]

I expect to see some serious back peddaling on this issue.

Both Google and the dimwit who wrote this article proceed from a false premise - that IE8 only runs on XP. Even though IE9 was released for Vista, IE8 was the default browser for Windows 7 - and lots of private company and government apps have only been tested to run under IE8. There isn't sufficient time to test and migrate those apps. Those same companies and agencies are likely to have standardized on IE8 for other security policy reasons. Possibly mistaken security policies, but you try getting a government mandated security policy changed in short order, then complete the necessary testing for all vital apps.

[Just a Framer]

Hold outs??

It's all very well and good for fashionistas to have the latest and the glitzier, for a small company with 10 PC XP is very good. "upgrading" means 10 new PC 10 New Systems new server new licences new programs, Money as far as I know doesnt grow on trees and while the systems work and we can do our jobs without hassle, the old...XP will remain the best system ever created!!

Bling and Glamour do not help me with my work. A "new" screen is good for the first and the last 5 seconds of every day, that's how much time I have to look at the "New " screen saver.

Very Informative article anyway, I didnt even know that IE was still around, removed the malignant cancer a millenia ago