I can’t help but wonder, considering the number of websites and web developers who insist on ensuring that their websites are still fully compliant with Internet Explorer 6, which was rendered obsolete long ago, should other non-standard browser configurations be considered as well?

Has anyone ever tried to count how many users run Firefox with the NoScript add-on?

How many users have JavaScript disabled in Google Chrome?

Do a lot of IE users have JavaScript turned off or restricted somehow?

Most importantly, if you added up all of the users with JavaScript unsupported or JavaScript disabled in their web browser, how big of a user group would they be as a percentage of all web users? Would that number be larger than the number of people still using IE 6? If so, wouldn’t it be prudent for website owners and webmasters to ensure that their websites function correctly without JavaScript, especially when so many of the elements using JavaScript are superficial like animated menus?

I for one test every WordPress theme or website template in Firefox with NoScript running to see what it looks like when it “breaks” because JavaScript is not enabled in a browser. If it still doesn’t render and function at a basic level, then I won’t use it.

Does anyone else do something similar?

Can the noscript tag be used effectively enough to compensate for non-JavaScript enabled browsers?

I was going to just leave Internet Explorer alone. Everyone knows that it is the bottom of the pile when it comes to browsers. The only people who use IE are those who are either not computer savvy enough to know that there are options and how to get them, and those who do know about the better web browsers out there, but figure that it just is not worth the effort. Even Microsoft knows IE 8 is already junk, that is why whenever it posts press releases about how fast Internet Explorer is compared to Chrome, Firefox, Opera and Safari, they compare them to the non-existent Internet Explorer 9 and not the currently released Internet Explorer 8.

Today, however, two of IE 8′s many shortcomings popped up in my face again and I figured that I would write this post in hopes that a growing chorus of user voices might just get Microsoft to pay attention to what is really wrong with Internet Explorer instead of what they think is wrong with Internet Explorer.

First and foremost is the Apple Computer-like arrogance that keeps IE from offering a way to choose your own setting for how IE 8 handles browser sessions. In every modern web browser out there, except for IE 8, you can choose to restore your last browsing session by default. That is, you can tell the browser to open all of the same tabs and webpages that were open during your last browsing session automatically the next time you start your browser.

Internet Explorer offers the ability to restore your last browsing session, but requires that you do it manually. The stated reason for this enormous deficiency in browser functionality is  privacy. Microsoft thinks that the possibility that someone might inadvertently see the website you were looking at last time is more important than you (the user) wanting to be able to pick right back up where you left off. Or, in the case of yours truly, not only pick right back up where I was online last time, but also to BE REMINDED of where I was last time without having to jot down notes or send myself a reminder or whatever.

While privacy is important and a worthy goal, allowing the user to use the software in the way that works best for them is WAY more important. It makes perfect sense that for privacy reasons Microsoft does not set Internet Explorer 8 to reopen the last browsing session by default. It makes NO SENSE whatsoever that Microsoft will not provide that option as one of the settings that can be customized in IE 8. I guess this feature wasn’t widespread enough during the development of IE 8 for Microsoft to bother copying it into their “revolutionary” new browser.

Spell Check Missing From IE 8

There is also no spell check in IE8 by default. In a world where more and more is done online on the Internet, being able to spell check your entries into fields and forms is paramount. Of course, at the time, although everyone else had a spellchecker, and Microsoft has access to arguably one of the most complete spellcheck programs anywhere (the one in Microsoft Word and Microsoft Office), they didn’t bother to include it. You have to download an addon called ieSpell in order to get spell check in IE 8. I guess that they wanted to make sure that at least someone downloaded an IE addon since as we discussed above, anyone willing to go download add-ons would have long ago downloaded a better browser instead.

Password Saving Wrong Time

Finally, IE 8 has a very annoying flaw in the way it saves and remembers passwords for websites. Apparently when Microsoft sent down the command to copy the password save and remember function from better browsers like Firefox, they didn’t actually pay enough attention to how it was done to copy it right.

When you enter a username and password in Chrome, Opera, or Firefox, the next page continues to load behind the dialog box that asks you whether or not you want to save the password. This is critical because all webpages hide the password you enter behind astericks which means that you can never be sure that you got the password right until the login page loads and sends you on your way with a successful login. On good web browsers, you enter your username and password, and then, if there is any doubt in your mind about whether or not your login will be successful, you just wait and see. If the login works, THEN you click Save or Yes to Save your password. If not, you click No and enter the password again and the browser correctly offers you a chance to save THAT password.

The jack#ss that designed Internet Explorer 8′s password save and remember functionality makes you answer the question BEFORE the next page will load. That means that you have to say Yes in order to see if the login was successful or not. If it was not sucessful, then you have already saved the WRONG password thanks to this bassackwards feature.

The worst part is that when you re-enter your login information and actually get it right, IE may not even offer to change the wrong information it already saved, especially if you fat-fingered the username. Now that website has TWO username and password combinations saved and one of them will be wrong forever unless you go manually dig into the guts of the IE settings menus to find and delete that wrong information.

Microsoft, while you are building functions and support and speed into IE 9, if you could please fix these things that you got wrong in IE 8, we would really appreciate it. Of course, it isn’t really that big of deal. Those of us that know better only use IE for two reasons: to get stuff off your own website, and to make sure that our websites look right for the chuckleheads who use your browser.

I’m not a huge Internet Explorer fan.  IE 8.0 is better than the unremarkable IE 7 and light years better than the virtually unusable IE 6, but, it still chock full of annoying quirks and weird Internet Explorer functions.

The latest nuisance comes courtesy of the Reopen Last Browsing Session feature, or more specifically the fact that there is no way to automatically reopen last browsing session.  (Although there is a way to disable reopen last browser session if you want to do that.)

Don’t get me wrong, I’m finally glad to see this functionality in Internet Explorer.  It’s bad enough for your browser to crash, but it really stinks for it to erase all of those open websites you worked so hard to find.

If you haven’t used IE 8 Reopen Last Browsing Session yet, it is probably because it isn’t really all that obvious that IE even has that feature, especially if you remember trying to find something like that in earlier IE versions and came up empty.  It isn’t a leap to assume that something that was missing last time is missing this time.  (Click the little gear icon that means settings or functions or something, and it’s the first choice at the top.)

It does say “Restore Last Browsing Session” on the screen that appears when you open a new tab, but if you use your browser a lot, or if you use another browser, chances are, you’ve been using tabs for so long, that you didn’t see the need to read whatever Microsoft decided to add once they decided it was a feature worth copying.

Ironically, for many users, having the option on a new tab is too late.  For example, I use the same feature in Firefox (which has had it for years, now) to help remind me of the things I was working on when I last shutdown my computer or browser.  If I had two more sources to go through, but it was getting really late, I would just leave those two tabs open.  When I started Firefox the next time, those two tabs would pop up right away and remind me to finish out the work I was doing.  That keeps me from having to write down a list, or put a sticky note on my monitor, or whatever.

Internet Explorer does not restore the last browsing session by default.  Microsoft says that this is because they carefully considered all the options and decided that for privacy reasons, it would be better if the last session did not automatically open when you opened IE.

That is fine with me.  I can see the arguments on both sides and certainly cannot fault anyone for coming down once way or another.  What is annoyingly preposterous is that there is no way for a user to customize this behavior and configure IE to do what they chose.  In other words, Microsoft has decided that, not only is it better to not display the last session by default, but that users are so stupid and inferior to Microsoft’s user interface design team that we shouldn’t even be given the choice!

One more time for the cheap seats, LET ME DECIDE HOW TO USE MY SOFTWARE ON MY COMPUTER!

You see, as it turns out, I am reasonably intelligent.  I can learn new things, figure things out, and yes, even use a computer that isn’t dumbed down to the lowest common denominator.  I can guard my own privacy.  I can use Private Mode browsing.  I can delete cookies.  I can delete history.  I can use CCleaner.  In other words, I don’t need Microsoft to be my mommy and wipe my nose and watch out for my privacy.  Just give me the tools to handle it myself (like Private Browsing Mode) and then let me handle it myself.

For Microsoft to assume what the best way for my software to be configured for me is patronizing and infuriating.  I know Microsoft is used to the people using its products being the non-computer savvy drones who just use whatever they have at work, or whatever comes installed on their computer by default; but if Microsoft ever wants the respect of people who actually know even a little bit about computers, then it needs to stop treating us like incompetent drooling monkeys.

Give me an about:config screen like Firefox.  Put the choice behind a button that says “Advanced”.  I don’t care what you do, just do something.

But don’t you dare decide what is best for me!

I’ve been trying to figure out how to get Internet Explorer to automatically reopen last browsing session instead of having to click on Tools –> Reopen all of the time.  (Yes, I know I can set about:tabs to be my home page or a bookmark and click on Reopen Last Browsing Session there, but that is still manual even if it isn’t hidden in a menu.)

What I did find is that you can disable reopen last browsing session feature in Internet Explorer 8 completely if you want to.

How To Disable Reopen Last Browsing Session Menu

Go into the registry (if you don’t know how, you shouldn’t be messing with it anyway).

Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Recovery

Add a new DWORD value named NoReopenLastSession

Set its value to 1

That is all it takes.

Check this out if you want to set IE8 to reopen last browsing session automatically by default whenever Internet Explorer 8 is opened.

How weird is this?

I’m using Internet Explorer 8 today; not by choice, but because some Microsoft websites whine about you using other browsers and I was doing research for a Microsoft related article. I have a favorite of the page I want to open.  (The proper term is bookmark, but Microsoft insists on pretending that they invent everything, including all the stuff they steal from other software, so they didn’t use the term bookmark, like everyone else.)  So, I press CNTRL+B.

Now, Control + B is actually the keyboard shortcut for another browser (Firefox).  As proof that Microsoft knows full well what the real terminology for a saved Internet location in a browser should be, CTL+B opens the "Organize Favorites" window in Internet Explorer.  This is a nice touch of Microsoft user interface usability from the boys in Redmond to understand that those of who don’t just use the software that came preinstalled on our computers are very likely to be used to the keyboard shortcuts of other browsers.

Still, it’s a little bit unexpected, because I’m expecting the sidebar or toolbar, or whatever that opens when you click on the little gold start to show up, but the Favorites window is fine, too.  What is very weird, however, is trying to open a bookmark from this window.

Technically, the Organize Favorites window is not where you are supposed to be browsing and opening your favorites from.  Nonetheless, following the standard Windows user interface paradigm, right-clicking on a bookmark brings up a context window which includes the option to Open the IE favorite that was clicked on.

At this point, I’m a little bit bummed, because what I really want to do is open the bookmark in a new tab, but it is still better than nothing, so I choose Open from the pop-up menu and…nothing.

I choose Open again.  Again, nothing happens.  After a few tries, I roll my eyes, give up, close the Organize Favorites window, click on the gold star, and open the bookmark from the sidebar.  A few minutes later I switch over to Firefox for something else, and notice that there are 4 tabs open.  Those four tabs are the ones that opened when I chose open.

Seriously?

Just to prove it to myself I tried it again, and sure enough, choosing Open from the context menu in Organize Favorites in IE 8 opens the bookmark in Firefox. 

It is undoubtedly because Firefox is set as my default browser, but I still assumed that choosing Open in a IE favorites window would open the favorite in Internet Explorer.

I wonder if this behavior is intentional, or if in all of their testing, no one ever noticed this behavior.  It is likely a felony at Microsoft HQ to have another browser installed as your default browser, so maybe it just never came up.  Either way, Microsoft amused me today.

So far this morning, I’ve stumbled across some updates from Microsoft that impact me or some of the freelance articles I’m writing (or scheduled to write).

First, Microsoft is no longer accepting beta participants for its Security Essentials program.  Security Essentials is a multi-dimensional securities application, but for the average home user, it is a free virus scanner with free virus definition updates.  While there are other utilities like this out there, this one would presumably come with technical support from Microsoft which could make it a viable option for businesses.  No word on how this would, or would not, impact the other major security vendors out there.

Next, I found out that Dell is offering the same kind of migration assistance and upgrade tools as pretty much every other first-tier PC manufacturer, but for some reason, they get a pretty extensive and flowery write-up in the Windows Blog.  Wonder if there is a marketing deal there, or if Microsoft is just showing some love, or if the Windows team is handing out a little payback for what appears to be some pretty hefty testing work done by Dell during the Windows 7 beta and Windows 7 RC periods.

And lastly, the same Windows Blog apparently is reading my thoughts while I’m laying in bed.  Last night I was going through what the differences are between XP Mode and Med-V , other than that Med-V only is available to business clients with Software Assurance licenses or other enterprise licensing.  Looks like I can use this post as the jumping off point for a nice freelance computer article.

This isn’t news, but I was using Internet Explorer a bit this morning and was thinking that it would be really great if I could customize this page that opens whenever you open a new tab in IE 8.  Not that I can change what page appears when you open a new tab, I know I can do that, but rather that I could change / add to what links are information are displayed on this page:

I’ll haven’t done much with IE 8 other than upgrade to it so that I have the least insecure Internet browser Microsoft makes, so with a little digging, maybe I’ll find that I can do exactly what I want.

Cheers.

Nothing says "simple minded" like calling the latest privacy innovation built into browsers "porn-mode".

Seriously?  You can’t think of a single reason other than surfing porn that you would want a privacy mode for?  If so, you are either too naive or too obsessed with porn.

Let’s start by saying I don’t want other people accessing my computer to know what I do on my personal time no matter what it is.  It’s none of their business if I play fantasy baseball, if I shop at Costco, or if I’m looking for a new dentist.  So, yes, I’ll be using privacy mode for that.  Just because it isn’t red-faced embarrassing, doesn’t mean it isn’t private.

Then, remember that privacy mode doesn’t just keep websites from writing new cookies, or tracking, or whatever to your computer, it also keeps them from reading the ones that are already there!

If it weren’t for people manually deleting their cookies, or installing new programs to do it for them, websites both legit and not could track you FOREVER with your cookies and other things on your computer.  Are you really OK with Sears knowing (before you enter any personal information or tell them who you are) that you bought tires from them in 2001 and then searched for wiper blades but didn’t buy any in 2006, and that now you are back looking at the automotive section?  Since you paid full price the last two times you visited, maybe they should not display the sale prices while you are browsing?

Does Sears do this? No. Could they? You bet.

There are dozens, or maybe hundreds, of very useful thing that can be using the new privacy modes whether it’s Google Incognito, Microsoft InPrivate, or Firefox Private Browsing.  The only reason it seems like you don’t need private browsing is because users developed tons of add-ons, plug-ins, and settings to control their privacy. 

Controlling what a website keeps track of on you and your computer used to involve downloading a whole new program like CCleaner, or having to dig into the Tools-> Options-> Privacy menu on your browser. Some people even resorted to learning how to use the semi-hidden profiles feature of Firefox and then creating a separate profile in order to do certain tasks.

Doesn’t privacy mode sound a lot easier?

Here are some great reasons to use your browser’s privacy mode including some that used to take much more complicated measures to get the same results.

Top Reasons to Use Privacy Mode That Are Not Porn

1. See what your Google search results would look like without "personalization" – Now you don’t have to listen to SEO consultants who tell you that just searching something to get results is not an option.
2. Research Products and Services so that when you are ready to buy, they don’t know that you have ever been there before.
3. Use Coupon Codes, Shipping Discounts, and more that are only good for "new customers" or those who have never been to a website before. Thanks to privacy mode, they won’t see that cookie or authenticated session that makes you ineligible.
4. Get a new registration or user name at a website or forum that you already use without the hassle of having two registrations. (Just always use privacy mode for the 2nd one.)
5. Keep your boss, co-workers, or spouse from knowing how much time you spend on Monster.com.
6. Avoid "personalized" offers from online merchants.
7. Or research whether those offers are really personalized, or just the same ones everyone else gets.
8. Respond to a post, debate, or review without giving away who you are.

The list could go on and on.  Research info on new banks, doctors, jobs, services, and more without them knowing and without the next person on your PC knowing.

Let’s also not forget that the world is full of embarrassments that are not porn.  What about online dating, weight loss, plastic surgery, medical conditions (unusual bowel movements, anyone?), collections (you still collect stamps? figurines? baseball cards? beanie babies? – Do you want the creepy guy in accounting to know that?)

So, let’s give the whole "porn-mode" thing a rest.  You’ve made your point, if you every had one.

Actually, nobody has ever been better at getting along without a privacy mode than those who surf for porn, because they knew that they needed to watch their privacy-backs.  It’s all of those other things that people naively do on their computers that are leaving things that they wish wouldn’t be left there that need privacy mode.

Enjoy.  I’m off to get credit for a referral to a website that I’ve already been to once or twice in the past.

When Google released its Chrome browser, there was a lot of focus on two features, the faster JavaScript engine, named V8, and the privacy mode, named Incognito.  The latter was the subject of much snickering and finger pointing as the blog-heads promptly nicknamed the feature “porno mode,” suggesting that the only reason for having a privacy feature like Incognito was to use your computer to surf the Internet for pornography.

The reaction to Google’s inclusion of a browsing privacy mode was ironic, considering the considerable heat the company takes from the same group of users for its own privacy policy and data collection techniques.  The same users who wail about how much Google might know about its users and what it does with that data was the same group to suggest that the only people who need privacy from their browser are perverts who look at pornography all day long.  This begs the question why these writers are so concerned then with their privacy for searches; presumably because they are searching for porn all day long. That being said, there have emerged several very useful needs for the privacy mode included in browsers like Google Chrome, and now Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Top 5 Uses For Internet Browser Privacy Mode

1. Pure Search Results – When you search via Google and other search engines, the search results you get are often colored by your past searching and other online behavior.  Thus, if Google’s systems detect that in the past you have searched regularly for tree root watering kits, then your searches for “root kits” are likely to have results returned that have something to do with watering plants, while a heavy searcher of Unix utilities would find the same search slanted toward computer based root kits.  This makes it difficult to get an idea of what a “pure” search ranking looks like. The standard techniques to avoid this require things like creating a separate Firefox profile, or using a different browser, and so on.  A quick click over to Privacy Mode, though ensures search results that are not colored by previous searches.
2. Testing New User Experience – Likewise, many websites offer a different experience to users who are returning users versus the one they offer to new users.  Also, many sites behave differently depending upon whether or not the user has logged in before from a specific computer.  By entering into Privacy Mode, or an Incognito Window, users can see what it is like to approach a site as a new user.  Using the privacy mode to see such things is much easier for someone like the Director of Marketing than maintaining and switching to a different profile or program to see the same.
3. Shopping Without Suggestions – Several websites seek to make a user’s experience more valuable by providing suggestions based upon your past behavior and purchases.  While this is a noble goal, there are times when you would prefer to not have your suggestions influenced by your past.  For example, if you are looking for something different or completely new to you, those helpful suggestions aren’t so helpful.  Getting movie or music download recommendations based on the universe versus based on Bob Smith can provide for a perspective broadening experience.
4. Providing Honest Input – Ever been to a website that you have an affiliation with?  Maybe one that you work for, or one that advertises on your website, and then wanted to comment on something, but were afraid of possible retaliation or a misunderstanding?  While privacy mode is no excuse to become a jerk, constructive criticism can be important for both the user and the provider.  A quick jump into Incognito mode helps ensure that your comments aren’t linked to your seller ID.
5. Actual Privacy – Whatever the teenage boys trapped inside grown-up bodies might say to the contrary, there are plenty of reasons to just want a little extra bit of privacy as provided by IE Privacy Mode or Google Incognito.  Between auto-complete web addresses, the Speed Dial like functionality of Google’s default page, and web form auto-fill, there are a thousand ways that someone jumping on your computer browser to handle a quick task could ruin your privacy.  Most mainstream companies point toward online shopping as the reason you might want some privacy, which only fans the red-faced finger pointing.  Imagine instead, the co-worker (you know, the gossipy one) who wants to check the company Intranet at baubles.net and upon typing “b-a” gets an auto-complete suggestion of “baby-advice.com” and suddenly turns around and asks if your wife is pregnant in a loud voice.  Frankly, you would probably prefer they thought you were looking at porn.  It doesn’t take long to think of 50 other instances that might arise, all of which can now be quickly and easily handled without having to turn off useful features like auto-complete, or managing different profiles.
6. Using Multiple Accounts Without Logging Out – Whether you need two Gmail accounts — one for personal use and one for business use — of if you want to run 18 different Twitter accounts, privacy mode gives you the ability to login in as one of the other accounts without having to log off of your other account. Just open up an Incognito Chrome window or fire off a Private Browsing session. When you get to the login page, you won’t get any hassle about already being logged in.

Don’t let the giggling, eye-rolling, finger pointing stop you from dropping into privacy mode whenever you feel like what you are doing is nobody’s business, or if you just need a little peak at what something looks like “from the outside.”  You’ll be surprised at how often you end up using it.

When Google released its Chrome browser, there was a lot of focus on two features, the faster JavaScript engine, named V8, and the privacy mode, named Incognito.  The latter was the subject of much snickering and finger pointing as the blog-heads promptly nicknamed the feature "porno mode," suggesting that the only reason for having a privacy feature like Incognito was to use your computer to surf the Internet for pornography.

The reaction to Google’s inclusion of a browsing privacy mode was ironic, considering the considerable heat the company takes from the same group of users for its own privacy policy and data collection techniques.  The same users who wail about how much Google might know about its users and what it does with that data was the same group to suggest that the only people who need privacy from their browser are perverts who look at pornography all day long.  This begs the question why these writers are so concerned then with their privacy for searches; presumably because they are searching for porn all day long. That being said, there have emerged several very useful needs for the privacy mode included in browsers like Google Chrome, and now Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Top 5 Uses For Internet Browser Privacy Mode

1. Pure Search Results – When you search via Google and other search engines, the search results you get are often colored by your past searching and other online behavior.  Thus, if Google’s systems detect that in the past you have searched regularly for tree root watering kits, then your searches for "root kits" are likely to have results returned that have something to do with watering plants, while a heavy searcher of Unix utilities would find the same search slanted toward computer based root kits.  This makes it difficult to get an idea of what a "pure" search ranking looks like. The standard techniques to avoid this require things like creating a separate Firefox profile, or using a different browser, and so on.  A quick click over to Privacy Mode, though ensures search results that are not colored by previous searches.
2. Testing New User Experience – Likewise, many websites offer a different experience to users who are returning users versus the one they offer to new users.  Also, many sites behave differently depending upon whether or not the user has logged in before from a specific computer.  By entering into Privacy Mode, or an Incognito Window, users can see what it is like to approach a site as a new user.  Using the privacy mode to see such things is much easier for someone like the Director of Marketing than maintaining and switching to a different profile or program to see the same.
3. Shopping Without Suggestions – Several websites seek to make a user’s experience more valuable by providing suggestions based upon your past behavior and purchases.  While this is a noble goal, there are times when you would prefer to not have your suggestions influenced by your past.  For example, if you are looking for something different or completely new to you, those helpful suggestions aren’t so helpful.  Getting movie or music download recommendations based on the universe versus based on Bob Smith can provide for a perspective broadening experience.
4. Providing Honest Input – Ever been to a website that you have an affiliation with?  Maybe one that you work for, or one that advertises on your website, and then wanted to comment on something, but were afraid of possible retaliation or a misunderstanding?  While privacy mode is no excuse to become a jerk, constructive criticism can be important for both the user and the provider.  A quick jump into Incognito mode helps ensure that your comments aren’t linked to your seller ID.
5. Actual Privacy – Whatever the teenage boys trapped inside grown-up bodies might say to the contrary, there are plenty of reasons to just want a little extra bit of privacy as provided by IE Privacy Mode or Google Incognito.  Between auto-complete web addresses, the Speed Dial like functionality of Google’s default page, and web form auto-fill, there are a thousand ways that someone jumping on your computer browser to handle a quick task could ruin your privacy.  Most mainstream companies point toward online shopping as the reason you might want some privacy, which only fans the red-faced finger pointing.  Imagine instead, the co-worker (you know, the gossipy one) who wants to check the company Intranet at baubles.net and upon typing “b-a” gets an auto-complete suggestion of “baby-advice.com” and suddenly turns around and asks if your wife is pregnant in a loud voice.  Frankly, you would probably prefer they thought you were looking at porn.  It doesn’t take long to think of 50 other instances that might arise, all of which can now be quickly and easily handled without having to turn off useful features like auto-complete, or managing different profiles.

Don’t let the giggling, eye-rolling, finger pointing stop you from dropping into privacy mode whenever you feel like what you are doing is nobody’s business, or if you just need a little peak at what something looks like “from the outside.”  You’ll be surprised at how often you end up using it.