Geek Dashboard

How-To's, Smartphones, News and Reviews

  • Home
  • News
  • Smartphones
    • Android
    • iOS
  • Computers
    • Windows
    • macOS
  • Internet
  • Reviews
You are at Home » News

Google Former Employee Reveals Their Secret Plan to Kill Internet Explorer 6 in 2009

Last Updated on May 6, 2019 by Abhishek Jariwala Leave a Comment

If you are using the internet from the last decade or longer, you would know how popular Microsoft’s Internet Explorer was. You can also argue that back in the day, Microsoft’s IE was also the only internet browser. And this forced users to use Microsoft’s browser even with all its limitations. However, we now have a surprising revelation from one of the former Google employees.

The Verge published a report last week quoting a former Google employee who revealed a plot against Internet Explorer. The employee stated that Google employees planned to kill Microsoft’ Internet Explorer 6 in 2009. The reason behind this was to stop supporting a browser which was ageing.

Google employees plotted to kill Internet Explorer 6 in 2009: Report

Nearly a decade ago, Google employees were planning how they can kill Internet Explorer 6 which was the default browser on Windows. Later, they plotted to do the same by displaying a banner in YouTube that Internet Explorer support is “phasing out” soon.

Also Read: Top 10 Best Browsers For Windows 10 For Better Experience

This would force users to switch to a different browser so that they can continue to access the site. The employees inside YouTube planned this so that they could kill support for Internet Explorer 6.

Internet Explorer 6 support ending soon banner inside YouTube
Image Credits: Chris Zacharias

However, the former Google employee also revealed that 18% of YouTube traffic, at that time, came from Internet Explorer 6. This former Google employee, named Chris Zacharias, also wrote a detailed blog post about the incident. In the blog post, Chris reveals that Internet Explorer 6 was very sensitive to CSS stylesheet that included an attribute selector. Any normal browser would ignore these changes but not Internet Explorer.

He claims, therefore, that web developers inside YouTube were frustrated and wanted to kill support for Internet Explorer 6. He adds that what was just a fantasy later turned into an actual plan. We planned that we cannot stop support outright for Internet Explorer 6 but what if we start threatening users about it.

Also Read: Google Chrome won’t Open or Load? 5 Ways to Fix it [Solved]

Chris also reveals that this code had to be slipped into production under the radar of Google’s top authorities. Because YouTube team was already told to support IE 6 for any length of time. Also, he says that Google had just acquired YouTube at that time but its integration was still pending. And also the fact that only YouTube employees inside Google opened YouTube on Internet Explorer 6 made it easier for them.

But he also says that the PR team lead came at their desks one day when he received emails from multiple publications. But the positive side was that the publications settled on a narrative that “major benefit to the Internet” is done due to this. And therefore, the YouTube team got hailed as being the supporters of better and faster internet.

#Google Chrome#Google+#Internet Explorer#Microsoft#YouTube
Posted inNews

Spread the Word!

Avatar for Abhishek Jariwala

Abhishek Jariwala Facebook Twitter

Abhishek has a deep love for gadgets and follows each and every new smartphone launch that takes place in the market. He can also be found reading books and watching Cricket or Formula 1 in his free time.

Related articles

Internet

How to Pull Facebook in Google Plus

News

WhatsApp for iPhone will soon let you play YouTube videos within the app

News

YouTube Announces Their Cable-Free TV Subscription Service

youtube tv

Comment Policy:

The comments section is aimed to help our readers in case of any questions or you can even appreciate us for our hard work. Every comment is strictly moderated before approving it.

Your name and comment will be visible to the public. Never share your personal information in the comments section.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Over 1,30,286+ Followers

Join to get latest updates from Geek Dashboard

Facebook Twitter Telegram Pinterest YouTube Instagram

Recently Published

  1. Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Laptop with 13th Gen Intel Core i7 Launched in India

  2. Lenovo Tab P11 5G Launched with 11-inch 2K Display and Snapdragon 750G SoC in India

  3. How To Select All Photos on iPhone and iPad Quickly

  4. iQOO 11 5G with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC and 120W Fast Charging Launched in India

  5. Realme 10 Officially Launched with 90Hz AMOLED Display and Dual Cameras in India

Geek Dashboard Placeholder

Download the apps and never miss a story from us

We put a lot effort and resources in writing our articles and we believe it is our responsibility to satisfy your tech hunger. We will keep you filled forever!

  • Get Geek Dashboard App from Google Play
  • Get Geek Dashboard App from Chrome Web Store
Geek Dashboard Logo

At Geek Dashboard, we are dedicated to bringing you the latest and greatest in technology news, reviews, and how-to guides. From smartphones to laptops, and everything in between, we've got you covered.

Got a Tip? Write In tip@geekdashboard.com

© 2012 - 2023 · Geek Dashboard, product of ikva eSolutions

Blog Advertise About Jobs Contact Privacy Policy Write For Us T&C Office Setup

No dogs were injured while working on this website because we love them