Internet Explorer 6 is always a hot subject of debate. We’ve talked about it here many many times. The forums are full of folks trying to troubleshoot it. The CSS support is problematic and the JavaScript support is proprietary nonsense.

The conversation is heating up a little hotter than usual lately, as major companies are starting to pull support for it. Apple’s new MobileMe service doesn’t support it. 37 signals is phasing out support for it. Matt Mullenweg says WordPress.com is still seeing about 25% of visits from IE 6 but will consider phasing out when it drops below 10%.

I thought I would start the conversation by covering the reasons I think people still use this browser. The percentages I am applying here are just for fun and complete speculation on my part. Feel free to chime in with comments on why you think so many people are still using this browser.

 

1. Because they have to (30%)

I hear fairly regularly from people using IE 6 because that’s what is on their computer at work and they are not allowed to change it. Big companies are slow to change, that has always been true. I’m no security expert, but I’m told IE 7 is a much more secure browser, I would think that alone would be intensive for big companies to get their employees on IE 7. But still, from an IT perspective, I can understand how rolling out a change like this can take tons of man hours for seemingly little benefit, especially if using the web isn’t core to the companies business.

People might also hold onto IE 6 because they use a website that either does, or claims to, only work on that browser. These websites are getting fewer and far between but they are certainly out there.

 

2. Because they have an old computer. (20%)

If they are using Windows 2000 IE 6 is the most current browser for that operating system as far as I know. Not to mention ME and 98.

 

3. Because they actively don’t care / dislike change (35%)

I say “actively” because if they just “passively” don’t care, Windows has probably automatically upgraded them without them even knowing. If they are actively not caring, they are probably clicking “No” and “Cancel” on whatever dialog boxes come up suggesting upgrades. They are probably creating more work for themselves by doing so, but they don’t know that.

If anything does change on their system, they may even take drastic steps to have it restored to it’s original version. I bet Geek Squad people could tell your stories of people demanding their web browser be returned to IE 6 after accidentally upgrading. People get used to using software in a certain way to get what they need to do done, and they are prone to getting upset if anything interrupts that.

 

4. Because they don’t know any better (15%)

I believe this is the smallest portion. People that could or would upgrade to a better browser, if convinced, but just don’t know the advantages yet.

 

Noticeably missing from this list:

“Because they want to.” I bet there are some crazies out there that love IE 6, but this is sub 1%.

 

What do these things all have in common?

There is very little we can do. We can educate people about the advantages of better browsers, but a lot of times we are just preaching to the choir or talking to deaf ears. The realit is, as we probably all know deep down, is that we are just going to have to wait this out. In a few years we’ll see probably lower than 10% usage across the board. Then we’ll be upset about a whole new set of things we want to use but are upset IE 7 doesn’t support!

Some of you are aware that I’ve been quietly collecting vote for the best web development books available. After roughly three weeks, I’m ready to reveal the results. The books will be categorized according to their subject matter.

CSS

• 

  CSS Mastery

  By bringing all of the latest tips, tricks, and techniques together in one handy reference, this book demystifies the secrets of CSS and makes the journey to CSS mastery as simple and painless as possible. While most books concentrate on basic skills, this one is different, assuming that you already know the basics and why you should be using CSS in your work, and concentrating mainly on advanced techniques.

  Purchase The Book

• 

  Transcending CSS

  In this groundbreaking book, you’ll discover how to implement highly original designs through visual demonstrations of the creative possibilities using markup and CSS. You’ll learn to use a new design workflow, build prototypes that work well for designers and all team members, use grids effectively, visualize markup, and discover every phase of the transcendent design process, from working with the latest browsers to incorporating CSS3 to collaborating with team members effectively.

  Purchase

  The Book

• 

  The CSS Anthology

  The CSS Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks & Hacks is a compilation of best practice solutions to the most challenging CSS problems. The second

  edition of this best-selling book, now in full color, has been completely revised and updated to cover the latest techniques and newer browsers, including Firefox 2 and Internet Explorer 7.

  Purchase The

  Book

• 

  The Zen Of CSS

  Proving once and for all that standards-compliant design does not equal dull design, this inspiring tome uses examples from the landmark CSS Zen

  Garden site as the foundation for discussions on how to create beautiful, progressive CSS-based Web sites. By using the Zen Garden sites as examples of how

  CSS design techniques and approaches can be applied to specific Web challenges, authors Dave Shea and Molly Holzschlag provide an eye-opening look at the

  range of design methods made possible by CSS.

  Purchase

  The Book

Javascript

• 

  Pro Javascript Techniques

  Pro JavaScript Techniques is the ultimate JavaScript book for the modern web developer. It provides everything you need to know about modern JavaScript, and shows what JavaScript can do for your web sites. This book doesnt waste any time looking at things you already know, like basic syntax and structures.

  Purchase The Book

• 

  Learning jQuery

  Query is a powerful JavaScript library that can enhance your websites regardless of your background. In this book, creators of the popular jQuery learning resource, learningquery.com, share their knowledge, experience, and enthusiasm about jQuery to help you get the most from the library and to make your web applications shine. For designers, jQuery leverages existing CSS and HTML skills, allowing you to dynamically find and change any aspect of a page.

  Purchase The Book

PHP

• 

  PHP Solutions

  The book has been written with an eye on forward and backward compatibility recommending the latest PHP 5 techniques, but providing alternative solutions for servers still running PHP 4.3.

  Purchase The Book

• 

  THE PHP Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks and Hacks

  The PHP Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks & Hacks, 2nd Edition is a collection of powerful PHP 5 solutions to the most common programming problems.

  Purchase The Book

• 

  PHP 6 and MySQL 5 for Dynamic Web Sites

  When static HTML pages no longer cut it, you need to step up to dynamic, database-driven sites that represent the future of the Web. In PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Web Sites: Visual QuickPro Guide, the author of best-selling guides to both the database program (MySQL) and the scripting language (PHP) returns to cover the winning pair in tandem-the way users work with them today to build dynamic sites using Open Source tools.

  Purchase The Book

Web Standards

• 

  Don’t Make Me Think

  The title of the book is its chief personal design premise. All of the tips, techniques, and examples presented revolve around users being able to surf merrily through a well-designed site with minimal cognitive strain. Readers will quickly come to agree with many of the book’s assumptions, such as “We don’t read pages–we scan them” and “We don’t figure out how things work–we muddle through.” Coming to grips with such hard facts sets the stage for Web design that then produces topnotch sites.

  Purchase The Book

• 

  Bullet Proof Web Design

  No matter how visually appealing or content-packed a Web site may be, if it’s not adaptable to a variety of situations and reaching the widest possible audience, it isn’t really succeeding. In Bulletproof Web Desing, author and Web designer extraordinaire, Dan Cederholm outlines standards-based strategies for building designs that provide flexibility, readability, and user control–key components of every sucessful site.

  Purchase The Book

• 

  Designing With Web Standards

  Standards, argues Jeffrey Zeldman in Designing With Web Standards, are our only hope for breaking out of the endless cycle of testing that plagues designers hoping to support all possible clients. In this book, he explains how designers can best use standards–primarily XHTML and CSS, plus ECMAScript and the standard Document Object Model (DOM)–to increase their personal productivity and maximize the availability of their creations.

  Purchase The Book

• 

  The Principles Of Beautiful Web Design

  The Principles Of Beautiful Web Design is a simple, easy-to-follow guide, illustrated with plenty of full-color examples, this book will lead you through the process of creating great designs from start to finish. Good design principles are not rocket science, and using the information contained in this book will help you create stunning web sites.

  Purchase The Book

Flash

• 

  How To WOW With Flash

  Flash powerhouse—Colin Smith—renowned author, Web designer, and trainer, has developed an effective way to help you reach your full creative potential. Just like great cookbooks—the ones with short, clear-cut instructions and mouth-watering photos of the delectable concoctions—this book identifies challenges, provides simple recipes for overcoming them, and plugs in inspirational full-color photos of the glorious results.

  Purchase The Book

All The Others

• 

  Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual

  This new version of the popular web design software offers a rich environment for building professional sites, with drag-and-drop simplicity, clean HTML code, and dynamic database-driven web site creation tools. Moreover, it’s now integrated more tightly with Adobe’s other products: Photoshop, InDesign, Flash, and their siblings. But with such sophisticated features, the software isn’t simple. So say hello to Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual, the fifth edition of this bestselling book by experienced web site trainer and author David McFarland.

  Purchase The Book

• 

  Building Websites With Joomla

  This is the best-selling Joomla! tutorial guide – which was recently updated for the latest 1.5 release.

  Purchase The Book

• 

  Simply Rails 2

  Unlike other Rails books, this book doesn’t assume that you are an experienced web developer, or that you’ve used Ruby before. An entire chapter is devoted to learning Ruby in a fun way, using the interactive Ruby console, so you can follow along at home. You’ll be an accomplished Ruby programmer in no time!

  Purchase The Book

• 

  Pro Drupal Development

  Assuming you already know how to install and bring a standard installation online, John K. VanDyk gives you everything else you need to customize your Drupal installation however you see fit. Pro Drupal Development, Second Edition delves deep into Drupal internals, showing you how to take full advantage of its powerful architecture.

  Purchase The Book

What Was The Most Voted Book?

It’s no surprise, “Don’t Make Me Think” was easily the favorite. Are there books that we missed? Leave a comment and let us know. If you enjoyed this collection, please submit it to Digg, DZone, StumbleUpon, etc.

I’ve been coding using jQuery since shortly after it came out, and well — I’ve been using it almost every work day. Here is a few tips that have saved me time.

#1: Use data method instead of storing data inside the DOM.

The mistake I see people making all the time is this:

$('selector').attr('alt', 'this is the data that I am storing');
// then later getting that data with
$('selector').attr('alt');

Why is this a bad thing?  Because “alt” has absolutely no meaning whatsoever, as well as HTML is not meant to store data.

Instead use the data method in jQuery. It allows you to associated data with an element on the page. 

$('selector').data('meaningfullname', 'this is the data I am storing');
// then later getting the data with
$('selector').data('meaningfullname');

This allows you to store data with meaningful names and as much data as you want on any element on the page. It is a really amazing utility and something I’ve come to rely on.

#2: Take advantage of jQuery’s built-in custom selectors.

jQuery has a plentiful amount of selectors that are beyond basic CSS selectors, so use them. Some that I use are:

• :input   example: get all the inputs on the page regardless if they are checkbox, textarea or select list – use :input
• [attribute=value]   example: find an input with the name, “container” – use input[name='container']
• :eq(index)  example: get the fourth table on the page – use table:eq(3)

#3: If you are Manipulating the DOM a lot, use livequery.

Note on November 16th, 2008: If you understand event delegation, use it as an alternative to using livequery for attaching events.

When you add elements to the page a lot, attaching events to them and running functions on them then use Brandon Aaron’s livequery plugin. This way you can do things like:

$('div.edit').livequery('click', function(){
//go into edit mode
});

Then whenever you add a div to the page with class “edit” it will attach that click event. This works for all other events, as well as if you want to run a function on an element right when it is added you can do this:

$('span.flag').livequery(function(){
// run this function when a span with class "flag" is added to the page
});

#4: Use jQuery form plugin to submit files via Ajax.

If you use Mike Alsup’s jQuery form plugin you can use it to submit files via Ajax. It uses a trick with an iframe to submit the data. Just put in an input type file, then use $(form).ajaxSubmit(); and you are good to go.

#5: Use classes as flags.

If you aren’t storing data, but need to set a flag on an element use a class. What do I mean by a flag? Well, for instance if you are in “edit mode” of a form you might use the class, “editing”.  With jQuery you can add a class with the addClass method and then check later if an element has the class with the hasClass method.