03 June 2011 | Author: C. Tate
Google will phase out support for Firefox 3.5, Safari 3, IE7 and all previous versions of those browsers starting 1 August 2011, the firm said. Any user viewing Google Calendar, Talk, Gmail, Docs or Sites could then lose functionality of those features.
Google named security issues and older browser versions' inability to use new technologies such as HTML 5 as the reasons behind the move.
In an official blog post, Google stated its developers were keen to take advantages of new browser capabilities and HTML 5 support.
As a result, Google will now only support 'modern browsers', meaning the current latest versions and all those that follow. From now on, Google will adapt its products to the current browser versions and stop supporting the third-oldest version of browsers.
Venkat Panchapakesan, head of engineering at Google, said in the post: "These new browsers are more than just a modern convenience; they are a necessity for what the future holds."
Compatibility testing will only now be undertaken with modern browsers. Google will not test the browsers with older programmes and will not guarantee functionality of Google services for the browsers.
According to StatCounter, 17 per cent of web users will need to upgrade their browser. Mozilla's efforts to get people to upgrade from Firefox 3.5 have resulted in only one million users left with it on their computer.
Microsoft reports that 11 per cent of browsers using its browser still use IE6. Researchers found the Far East to have a significant proportion of the older browser's users. 34 per cent of Chinese internet users have IE6, as do 22.3 per cent of South Koreans and 11.6 per cent of those living in Vietnam.
Out with the old: Google to no longer support older browsers
Google will phase out support for Firefox 3.5, Safari 3, IE7 and all previous versions of those browsers starting 1 August 2011, the firm said. Any user viewing Google Calendar, Talk, Gmail, Docs or Sites could then lose functionality of those features. Google named security issues and older browser versions' inability to use new technologies such as HTML 5 as the reasons behind the move.
In an official blog post, Google stated its developers were keen to take advantages of new browser capabilities and HTML 5 support.
As a result, Google will now only support 'modern browsers', meaning the current latest versions and all those that follow. From now on, Google will adapt its products to the current browser versions and stop supporting the third-oldest version of browsers.
Venkat Panchapakesan, head of engineering at Google, said in the post: "These new browsers are more than just a modern convenience; they are a necessity for what the future holds."
Compatibility testing will only now be undertaken with modern browsers. Google will not test the browsers with older programmes and will not guarantee functionality of Google services for the browsers.
According to StatCounter, 17 per cent of web users will need to upgrade their browser. Mozilla's efforts to get people to upgrade from Firefox 3.5 have resulted in only one million users left with it on their computer.
Microsoft reports that 11 per cent of browsers using its browser still use IE6. Researchers found the Far East to have a significant proportion of the older browser's users. 34 per cent of Chinese internet users have IE6, as do 22.3 per cent of South Koreans and 11.6 per cent of those living in Vietnam.
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