jQuery 2.0 Released – IE Support Dropped
The latest version of jQuery was released yesterday. Some of the features include:
- Reduced filesize for faster loadtimes
- Custom builds for smaller files
- Dropped support for IE 6/7/8
- And more…
The best feature, according to many web developers, is that it has dropped support for older versions of Internet Explorer. From the jQuery blog:
As promised, this version leaves behind the older Internet Explorer 6, 7, and 8 browsers. In return it is smaller, faster, and can be used in JavaScript environments where the code needed for old-IE compatibility often causes problems of its own.
What does this mean to the average internet user? Anyone using Internet Explorer 8 or older will likely start to miss out on cool new features on cutting-edge websites. IE already has poor support for HTML5, so IE users are likely already feeling the burn on sites like YouTube, Vimeo, and others.
But according to w3c browser statistics, this only accounts for about 6% of the internet browsing population. So it’s clear to see why so many developers have dropped support. Since most users have a modern browser such as Firefox or Chrome – most users will continue to enjoy the latest web features.
| Browser | % of users (as of March 2013) |
|---|---|
| Chrome | 51.7% |
| Firefox | 28.5% |
| IE 9+ | 6.5% |
| IE 6/7/8 | 6.4% |
| Safari | 4.1% |
So, if you’re an Internet Explorer user I have one piece of advice: try another browser! It is very easy to install a new modern browser on your computer. Simply click a link below, click the download button, then set that browser as your default browser (you should see a popup when you first run the new browser).
Once you have your new browser, sit back and enjoy the fast load times, forward-compatibility, and support for the coolest new internet features. You’re welcome!
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