Game of Browsers
With the myriad of browsers available today, it can be very easy to get a bit lost when choosing which browsers to support for your website. In the following post, I will be giving a brief history of some of the big players out there, using language everyone can understand – Game of Thrones analogies.
Internet Explorer 6 AKA Aerys II Targaryen
Many years ago, a king named IE6 ruled the Iron Throne. He showed great promise at the start of his reign, bringing peace, prosperity and many new features to the Internet Kindom. His reign was cut short however, as he soon descended into insanity following the uprising known as Web Standards.
As his delusions of grandeur grew out of control, he plotted to burn the Internet to the ground, believing he would rise from the flames as a dragon, giving him the power to destroy his enemies. Thankfully, IE8, now known as the Kingslayer stabbed him in the back before he was able to follow through with his plan.
In summary, IE6 had his time many years ago, he brought some good to the Internet in his early days, but any good he once did was quickly overshadowed by his insanity, cruelty and utter disregard of web standards.
Internet Explorer 7 AKA Joffrey
The most cruel of the browsers in recent history, IE7 primary source of joy came from torturing users and developers alike.
Thankfully, he was killed after a relatively short reign. There are some that mourn for him, whom we must do our best to (browser) support in their time of grief, however his death was mostly met with celebration and he will soon be forgotten.
Internet Explorer 8 AKA Kingslayer
IE8 is the older cousin and father of IE7. Although he does sometimes show glimmers of hope, history has shows that deep down, he is nothing but cruel and selfish.
Despite his father; Microsoft (aka Tywin Lannister) completely dropping support for him, he is still quite an important character in the Internet Kingdom, however with so many people against him, it only seems like a matter of time before he is killed off too.
IE9 AKA Cersei Lannister
IE9 hasn’t committed as many crimes against humanity, developers and users as her brother or son (IE8 & IE7), she can also appear quite attractive in the right light. However we all know that her beauty will fade, and she will be the cause of countless atrocities in the coming years as she has one major flaw – no auto updates.
As IE9 is one of the more widely used browsers at the moment, we must be mindful of her. But if you are still on her side, we strongly suggest switching your allegiances.
IE10/11 – Tyrian
The younger (in inches), smarter brother of IE8 and IE9. IE10/11 is a breath of fresh air in what seems to be a doomed family. Despite his short stature, IE10/11 has the ability to grow to great heights with his auto-update feature. He isn’t around as much as we’d like him to be just yet. But we’re sure he has a bright future ahead of him
Chrome – Daenerys Targaryen
Probably the most universally loved character in the Game of Browsers, Chrome comes from a royal lineage and has done all the right things by us so far, which has led to most people being on her side. With great power comes great responsibility however, and we hope that she will continue to use her power for good and not for evil.
Did we mention she has DRAGONS?
Safari – Margaery Tyrell
Safari is a politically savvy, intelligent young woman, she’s kind, beautiful and compassionate. Despite all this there’s just something about her that doesn’t seem quite right. A lot of people are on her side, which is great – but we do feel that some caution should be taken around her due to her self serving nature.
Firefox – John Snow
Firefox, who has a mixed (open source) lineage has done great things in his time in the Internet Kingdom, he may not be as pretty as Safari or Chrome, but he’s a solid browser that we love none the less.
Opera AKA Bran Stark
Opera is the little guy with superpowers. He’s a bit down on his luck at the moment, and it seems like not many people are on his side, despite his great features. But we hope he has a great future ahead of him and can continue to contribute to the web.
Hopefully this has been somewhat informative, and reminded you to keep browser support in mind for your next website! If not, we hope that it’s at least gotten you excited about the next episode of Game of Thrones!
*As of April 2014, Microsoft has dropped support for Windows XP, which is the last Windows OS that doesn’t support more modern versions of IE.