| About Internet Explorer 8, other browsers and our website |
Some members may have updated their website browser to the recent Internet Explorer 8 Beta2.
This is a new and much improved version of the browser most of us use. The term "Beta" means that this is software that may still have bugs but is considered robust enough for a public release. Developers often do this as the wider user base speeds up the bug finding / resolving process. |
Our recent website updates were driven by the need to be compliant with modern and much stricter standards for website pages. These ensure that a web page will look the same in all browsers and on all types of computer.
Previous versions of IE did not comply correctly and so we (developers) had to write additional "work around" code. |
Unfortunately it is this code that is preventing our site from displaying correctly in IE8 Beta2.
The problems are many but there is an easy solution available until I fix this issue. |
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In IE8 simply click the "Compatibility" icon as shown below to fix any problems.
Your choice will be remembered for subsequent visits.
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| You can do this for any site that looks wrong or does not work correctly. |
Longer term
There are several issues but most are based on code we have to include to display correctly in older browsers such as IE5.5 and IE6. The IE8 solution will be to remove this code.
This will mean that we will no longer be supporting obsolete versions of IE. Note that is a good thing as these versions are riddled with security issues. |
Supported browsers.
The RSrnYC site will run and display correctly without modification in:
IE7, Fire Fox 2 and 3, Safari on Macs and PC's, Google Chrome, Netscape Navigator 7+.
IE8 - please switch to compatibility mode for the time being. |
Browsers in general
We all spend a great deal of time using web browsers so it makes sense to use one that suits you.
The new IE8 is better than IE7 in many ways and the 70% of us that use it will have few questions as it all looks and feels more or less the same but what about the other browsers?
FireFox: The vendors are not at all pro Microsoft so things like windows video will not run in it. It has many add-ons, toolbars and toys available so it finds favour with people who like such things.
Safari: This is a Mac browser but is now available on the PC as a download and by stealth via i-Tunes. Its simple and fast.
Google Chrome: Simple, fast and very clean looking. There are no toolbars nor myriad icons to clutter things up. Search Google simply by typing into the address bar, downloaded files are dealt with in a simple way at the foot of the browser. While its not for me to recommend anything I use Google chrome now for about 90% of my web browser use. |
All browsers are free and can be downloaded quickly.
FireFox: http://www.mozilla-europe.org
Google Chrome: http://www.google.com/chrome
Its worth watching the basic usage video clips on these sites. That said, any member who needs browser support of any kind is welcome to call or email me and I will try to help. Contact information is on the login page. |
| Ian Marlow |