Stop Using IE6 or Google will Abandon you!!

Minutes ago, I received an email from Google which made jump in my chair with joy. As a developer, no other news could make me happier (especially at this time, when I was on the verge of pulling my hair, trying to get a client’s site work properly on this beastly browser). We all know about the age old fight of web developers, site owners, designers and web service providers with the timeworn Internet Explorer 6 users. Interestingly, this fight has been supported by many communities across the globe and Microsoft gave its share by taking away all support for IE6 with the launch of IE7.

What’s the news after all?

Though Google has been intimidating its users for long to stop using IE6, it finally declared to set its foot down, saying, “In order to continue to improve our products and deliver more sophisticated features and performance, we are harnessing some of the latest improvements in web browser technology.  This includes faster JavaScript processing and new standards like HTML5.  As a result, over the course of 2010, we will be phasing out support for Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 as well as other older browsers that are not supported by their own manufacturers … Later in 2010, we will start to phase out support for these browsers for Google Mail and Google Calendar.”

Finally, Google fully joined the war with Microsoft and the rest of the world against IE6 users with this bold step. For this Google deserves a round of applaud!

The news brings hope for an end to the usage of IE6, if not by the end of year 2010, at least somewhere between the years 2011-12. It’s no news that Google rules the World Wide Web with the maximum number of market share, and with this step it will definitely act as an eye opener for the IE6 users and bring relief to businesses and people suffering because of them.

Great News! No IE6.

This will be great news for developers, as they’ll save a lot of production time bypassing the extra styling and fixes needed to work upon, just to render same look for all the apps and websites on IE6. They will finally implement newer technologies and render web experience, which in turn will undoubtedly raise the web standards and their awareness among users.

Great news for users, as they’ll surf the web more securely and can welcome newer technologies; applications that will enhance their browsing experience. Users will then get more features and functionality from newer browsers, which means they can actually speed up their business or work online and deliver more in lesser time. And above all, they will have one look for all applications on all browsers.

Also for website owners, as they will be relieved from the merciless charge by developers, not me!! to have their websites support users of IE6.

Well, it’s more than important for everyone to support Google in their efforts against IE6. I say, be it developers or designers, we should all follow the footsteps of these great leaders and from this point, stop any and every support and fix for IE6.

What’s your take on this news? Share your views below..

Foot sponsored by CSSJockey.com

You got it right! I’m very much climbing each step with these extraordinary people, who are making a tremendous effort to bring not mere clean running water, but the true sense of humanity to the people deprived of it.

What this is about is all about?

More than ONE BILLION people worldwide do not have access to clean, safe drinking water. The astonishing reality is, every 15 seconds a child dies from a waterborne disease. KENNA, the founder of this expedition, joined by a group of Global Influencers will climb Mt. Kilimanjaro 19340 foot in lieu of bringing attention to the thundering crisis the world around has shut eyes to.

Take a step forward with the Climbers.

Bringing technology to good use with the generous and overwhelming support of HP & Intel, they are sharing their caravan through pictures, videos, tweets and Facebook updates from every sojourn. You get it all in the updates on their website SummitonSummit.com

The crisis is enormous, yet the solution is simple but sadly it has been drifted for years leaving us cold feet. CSSJockey has a made a modest bit to support the efforts of this magnanimous team and makes a humble appeal to all my readers and friends to do the least they can for this noble cause.

1. Ported xHTML and CSS markup to a newer Framework that I developed.
2. Updated the scripts to minimize the use of jQuery based plug-ins.
3. Optimized the background and other images to load faster.
4. Revamped the home page design to highlight the blog posts better.
5. Home page design now allows more dynamic content to be added for easy navigation and that extra SEO bit.
6. Revamped the Comments style on blog posts.

I have also added more custom admin options to the dashboard to make it easier to control the website without having to edit any files manually. I am loving the new look and feel of the website but I am keen to know how do you feel about it.

Take a look around the website and feel free to provide your valuable feedback using the comments form below

We don’t have any specific positions we’re actively trying to fill, but that could change quickly! Either way, we know that you don’t build an exceptional team by only hiring in spurts. We’re always looking for great people to connect with and discuss opportunities.

Are you an awesome Web Designer or Developer?
Send us your CV / Portfolio at jobs [at] cssjockey.com

What are we looking for?

In Designers:

The candidate must be a highly self-motivated team player and a quick learner who is capable of working efficiently in strict time constraints, independently and as a part of a team. Adobe Photoshop will be the primary design tool, though knowledge of Illustrator or Fireworks would be a great asset and add weight to your eligibility for the post.
We are looking for the following key skills in a designer…

1. Must understand the basics of layers, positioning, blending and grouping
2. Must be familiar with color modes, blending modes and effects
3. Must be an expert with pen, selection and other tools
4. Must know and be able to use Photoshop Filters and Actions
5. Must have a good sense of color schemes and placement of web elements

Most important of all, the designer must be able to *get* the client’s requirements and work accordingly.

In Developers:

The candidate must be able to write W3C valid, table-less xHTML and CSS mark up. The candidate should be able to write xHTML code using both Strict and Transitional mark up. Additional requirements for developers are strong programming skills in PHP and knowledge of popular Content Management Systems (CMS) like WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, PostNuke, Magento and OSCommerce. The candidate should be able to work efficiently in strict time constraints and in accordance with the guidelines from clients.

CSSJockey has been doing amazingly well since it has come up online in January this year. And it fills us with a strong sense of pride to announce that we have entered Alexa top million sites in less than 3 months of being up and running. The current Alexa Rank for CSSJockey.com is 99,728 … that implies an 820% growth in 3 months.

With only 18 posts on the blog, and NEWSLive being our only Premium WordPress Theme released till date, we attribue our success to the regular support of our loyal readership base. We’d also like to thank Smashing Magazine and all CSS Galleries for featuring CSSJockey on their website. It sent us a lot of traffic and boosted our readership a great deal.

Although Alexa rank by “Alexa – The Web Information Company” – is not considered a very accurate metric by many but with some recent updates in Alexa ranking algorithm it has certainly become a lot more reliable than it earlier was. And it is certainly not a bad idea if we go by the Alexa rank to measure our reach and popularity until the Google Page Rank update happens.

When I was designing CSSJockey this was the only principle I was sticking to while putting the various elements together. And today it is paying me in a good way. CSSJockey is featured on Smashing Magazine!

CSSJockey.com featured on Smashing Magazine

It’s such an honor to be featured on such an amazing website. I’ve been following Smashing Magazine since forever but had never thought I’d ever make it to one of their posts
I’d like to thank Smashing Magazine so much for finding and featuring CSSJockey.com.

I am loving it.

What is CSSJockey?

Let me start by answering what I am mostly being asked, “Why I chose this name – (CSSJockey)? “. CSS is a short name of Cascading Style Sheets which is used to create websites with current web standards (more about CSS). Jockey as you all know is the one who drives or operates something just like a Disc Jockey or a Polo player. With me, CSS is the driving force and I am the Jockey.

The Technology behind CSSJockey

You must have realized by now that CSSJockey is powered by WordPress. Each element of CSSJockey can be managed within WordPress dashboard without touching the code. With the increase in demand of websites based on WordPress, I have created Custom Theme Settings Options, which facilitate my clients to update their site content easily, even if it’s not a WordPress default function. To enhance user experience, this site takes full advantage of jQuery and the valid xHTML/CSS code is fully functional on all major browsers including IE6.

I strongly believe that WordPress is not just blogging software; it’s a powerful CMS which is no doubt highly recommended by professional developers.

What Software do I use??

Well, I am not from Mars so I use what everyone is using; only thing that differentiates CJ from others is the knowledge of web-standards and experience gained in last few years. To name a few:

• I use Adobe Photoshop for designing website layouts
• Adobe Illustrator for vector art and icons
• Aptana for xHTML/CSS, jQuery, PHP, Cake PHP and Ruby On Rails
• Microsoft VWD 2008 for ASP.net development
• Wamp for local server

Whom I trust for Web Hosting?

I tried a few hosts but was never satisfied with the services and response time for my queries. Being a developer I don’t think I have time to read their documentation to find out the solution. Finally I signed up with HostGator and using their Business Plan with unlimited features and their after sale service is just awesome. Online Support Chat is where I click when I have a query.

What Gadgets Do I Use?

Now if I start writing about this I guess this blog will be a gadget blog, so I would keep this for some other project I might start in coming years.

What can I do for you?

I guess you missed the services section of this website, please check it out.