As technologies get more advanced and old ones are left behind, some models become outdated and lose support. This is what has happened with IE7, as IE8 embraces new standards, which will improve the web but potentially could display sites built for older versions of Internet Explorer incorrectly. In order to achieve the best of both worlds, Microsoft introduced a “Compatibility View” feature in Internet Explorer, similar to the Compatibility Mode used in applications (such as running an application in compatibility mode for Windows 95 within Windows XP). Microsoft describes their Compatibility View as a stand-in replacement for those websites not yet ready for IE8:
Internet Explorer 8 is a new release and some websites may not yet be ready for the new browser. Click the Compatibility View toolbar button to display the website as viewed in Internet Explorer 7, which will correct display problems like misaligned text, images, or text boxes. This option is on a per site basis and all other sites will continue to display with Internet Explorer 8 functionality. When you click on the Compatibility View button for a site, you don’t need to do it again as the next time you visit that site the browser will show it in compatibility mode. If for some reason you’d like to go back to browsing with Internet Explorer 8 functionality on that site, simply click the Compatibility View button again.
However, sites will most likely take a very long time to adapt themselves fully to the new features of IE8, as according to the W3Counter, over half of all browsers on the Internet are IE6 and IE7, with less than 2% going to IE8. IE8′s Compatibility View may be Microsoft’s way of accommodating for the fact that most users simply do not wish to upgrade, and this may be causing serious issues within the Redmond giant. In fact, Microsoft takes the Compatibility View so seriously that Microsoft recently moved around the icon and updated the notifications to make the Compatibility View a more obvious and easier to activate function because many users simply elected to not use it.
Microsoft also mentions a Compatibility View list:
You can maintain a list within Internet Explorer 8 for sites that should be displayed in Compatibility View. From the Command Bar, select Tools, and then select Compatibility View Settings to add and remove sites from this list. There are also options for viewing all websites and intranet sites in Compatibility View.
What do you think? Use IE8 with Compatibility View or download Firefox 3.5?
