Comments on: Is Google Chrome Frame the right approach?

By: phil

phil — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 04:27:23 +0000

If IE simply won't work, and you need to ask the user to install a plugin, then this is the killer plugin, might as well install this one, and get .ogg playback, svg, canvas, server fonts, fast js a sane box model, no float drops... and a host of other cool stuff. Blows away flash. Blows away custom programs and codecs and such installed outside of the browser. As a side benefit it removes essentially all IE testing too, which is nothing but pain.

Way better to ask for this plugin than warn the site does not render correctly unless on Firefox, Safari or Chrome.

This is NOT about adding a meta tag, it is about the Google supplied javascript that forces this plugin to be installed before continuing into a website if the user is on IE... Just like flash enabled sites do/did... That is where the power of this trick comes from. As a web designer I can know that there are no raw IE users who don't know how badly messed up their visit is... on advanced sites any more...

By: Steen

Steen — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:26:07 +0000

Every credit to Google for trying to remove us of IE6.

By: Robert O'Rourke

Robert O'Rourke — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:02:56 +0000

Hear hear!

A lot of people don’t even know the difference between a browser and a search engine and why hsould they (it doesn’t mean they’re stupid either).

Link: People on the street being asked the question “What is a browser?”

http://www.pleaseenjoy.com/project.php?cat=4&subcat=&pid=131&navpoint=6

By: Xelo

Xelo — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:29:59 +0000

The http://www.ie8blog.com site have good information aobut CF.
http://www.ie8blog.com/2009/09/23/i-have-seen-it-all-now-google-chrome-rendering-and-script-engine-running-under-internet-explorer-are-you-kidding-me/

By: Alan Evans

Alan Evans — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:44:11 +0000

Great Idea, just a pity that google couldnt have done it in user space somehow - so that those without admin access could use it.

But any contribution to getting rid of IE6 is a good one in my book.

By: xlevel

xlevel — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:23:53 +0000

I can see it being very useful for corporate environments where you have a number of Web Apps that require IE6 and other, more modern apps, that might not work so well with IE6. The perfect plugin would be the other way around, allowing more modern browsers to revert to IE6 for the Web Apps that need it. This would allow corporates to ween themselves off IE6 and would cut it's use down dramatically. The trouble is that for this to be taken up by the corporate world, it would have to be built by or published through Microsoft, and this will never happen.

By: Anna Langella

Anna Langella — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:58:09 +0000

very nice idea. would be interested to hear how many downloads it gets. slightly strange to think someone would want to keep ie6, but be willing to install a plugin to avoid having to use ie6!

By: Devon Govett

Devon Govett — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:56:40 +0000

I don't think that Google Chrome Frame is really for websites. It is really for advance web applications that need to take advantage of new web technologies such as those in HTML5 (canvas, SVG, video tag, audio tag, etc.) as well as faster javascript. As more and more applications are developed on the web rather than on the desktop, developers will need these technologies in order to make their applications stand up to their desktop counterparts. Anyway, that's just my 2-cents.

By: Rich Archer

Rich Archer — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:24:12 +0000

Very well put Paul – I agree that whilst it’s a marvelous development from Google, and obviously I’ll be using it, it’s a no-brainer, really.
I can’t help feeling, however, that this will be used by the developers of the IE6-dependent apps you mention as a quick-fix, removing their need to improve their software to be more compliant with modern browsers, potentially keeping IE6 as a dominant share of the market for far longer than it would done otherwise.

By: Ben Smithett

Ben Smithett — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 05:02:08 +0000

gah! the comments box didn't include any of my line breaks!! sorry guys :(