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Re: Supporting NS4 [WAS: Re: Formatting lists]

for

From: Leo Smith
Date: Oct 28, 2002 6:52AM

> Wired can let NN4.7x lapse as a supported browser because it's
> viewership is so, well, wired.

By "supported" browser, you are referring to presentational support.
The content at Wired's site is fully accessible (in the broadest
sense) to any device that can read basic structural html. Therefore,
their site can support any and every browser.

Can you imagine any committed readers
> of that site having the same bizarre unreasoning resistance to
> upgrading that a govt. agency or academic institution would?

I work in an academic institution, and folks are generally very
willing to upgrade when I point out to them that NS4 is not a
standards compliant browser (very powerful words, even to those
that are not tech savy). Also, when they realize that they are losing
some functionality (our site uses print media stylesheets which do
not work with NS4) they can also be quick to upgrade. We are at a
user base of about 8% for NS4, down from 15% in February. Other
universities around the country are reporting a user base as low as
3% for NS4.


No, of
> course not. But those of us who write for a more diverse and less
> cutting-edge audience are stuck with it for a while yet, sadly.

If you are truly writing for everybody, regardless of the technology
that they are using, then you might want to think again. PDA and
cell phone Web access may well explode in the next few
years.....providing anything other than structural linearized content
to these devices (especially as they keep getting smaller!) does
not seem very feasible.

Leo.


Leo Smith
Web Designer/Developer
USM Office of Publications and Marketing
University of Southern Maine
207-780-4774


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