Fingering diagram builder

**Gandalfe** · 09-12-2011, 09:29 PM

Brett, when was the last time you worked with IE? Is this based on info from a couple of years ago? I know many, many users who will not install another browser because they only use what comes with their computers. No worries that you don't change this, I have three browsers available on any of my computers at any time. But I'm not your average user.

**tictactux** · 09-12-2011, 09:57 PM

And as long as IE is blocked upfront we have no way of finding out what's going wrong.

**bpimentel** · 09-12-2011, 10:06 PM

This is based on my ongoing efforts to get any of IE 7, 8, or 9 to work. 9 does technically have SVG support, but things are still going wrong--wrong enough that the only viable option was to block it up front. It just doesn't handle SVGs in the way the other browsers do, and even rewriting the code from the ground up for IE didn't give me results I could use. I spent many, many hours trying to crack this problem and ultimately decided that it wasn't reasonably doable for this release. Sorry, kids.

I know some web professionals (of which I am not one) have a thing against IE. While it's not my browser of choice, I'm not crusading against it. I would happily support it if there were any way that I could. Fingers crossed for IE10.

**tictactux** · 09-12-2011, 11:09 PM

Originally Posted by bpimentel

This is based on my ongoing efforts to get any of IE 7, 8, or 9 to work. 9 does technically have SVG support, but things are still going wrong--wrong enough that the only viable option was to block it up front. It just doesn't handle SVGs in the way the other browsers do, and even rewriting the code from the ground up for IE didn't give me results I could use. I spent many, many hours trying to crack this problem and ultimately decided that it wasn't reasonably doable for this release. Sorry, kids.

I know some web professionals (of which I am not one) have a thing against IE. While it's not my browser of choice, I'm not crusading against it. I would happily support it if there were any way that I could. Fingers crossed for IE10.

Oh yes, SVG is a PITA. No wonder many resort to Flash animation (which pose problems of their own)

**pete** · 09-13-2011, 04:43 AM

Originally Posted by Gandalfe

Brett, when was the last time you worked with IE? Is this based on info from a couple of years ago? I know many, many users who will not install another browser because they only use what comes with their computers. No worries that you don't change this, I have three browsers available on any of my computers at any time. But I'm not your average user.

I've mentioned before that one of the biggest problems I've had in coding HTML is that IE, Chrome, Safari and Firefox are not pure-HTML compliant. Opera is, but because it is the only one that is, that means that some websites just hate it. What all this can mean is that your code will work properly in one, some, all or none of the browsers listed. However, I'd probably experiment with user agent strings and/or Compatibility Mode before just writing off IE.

Standards are wonderful. There are so many of them.

However, Gandalfe's point is correct: a lot of people don't know how to change their browser and many don't want to be told how to. Because Windows has most of the PC market, websites should really try to be IE-compliant. If you've got an arts-related (including music-related) website, it also better be Safari compliant. (I've gotta tell you that Safari is wicked fast in MacOS 10.7. Can't connect to a Domain, but you can browse wicked fast.)

**bpimentel** · 09-13-2011, 11:39 AM

I'd probably experiment with user agent strings and/or Compatibility Mode

Done and done. Even using Chrome Frame couldn't solve all the issues.

websites should really try to be IE-compliant

I agree. In this case I tried so hard that I went to the extreme of coding a completely separate site just for IE. Didn't work.

IE users make up about 20% of visitors to my website, and that number is slowly but steadily dropping.

**Gandalfe** · 09-13-2011, 06:42 PM

Originally Posted by bpimentel

IE users make up about 20% of visitors to my website, and that number is slowly but steadily dropping.

Interesting; there are a lot of browsers to choose from now a daze. What is the most popular browser used to access your site? I'm guessing that a lot of musicians are also artists and so maybe it is Chrome?

**bpimentel** · 09-13-2011, 11:10 PM

About 30% Firefox, 30% Safari, 20% IE, 15% Chrome, 5% various mobile.

**tictactux** · 09-13-2011, 11:25 PM

Originally Posted by bpimentel

About 30% Firefox, 30% Safari, 20% IE, 15% Chrome, 5% various mobile.

and 0.00001% telnet.

**Gandalfe** · 09-14-2011, 07:52 PM

Haw Ben! Where is that fricken LIKE button. :O)

Brett, I have three of the top four on your list on this computer.

**tictactux** · 09-14-2011, 08:01 PM

Originally Posted by Gandalfe

Haw Ben! Where is that fricken LIKE button. :O)

I once was accused of being a "modernist" for suggesting or using telnet in lieu of nc (aka netcat).
(These folks probably do their taxes with emacs or vi)

**pete** · 09-14-2011, 08:49 PM

Don't make me come over there and beat you with a |.

**tictactux** · 09-14-2011, 09:56 PM

Originally Posted by pete

Don't make me come over there and beat you with a |.

#!

**pete** · 09-15-2011, 07:08 PM

$wf_member

**SOTSDO** · 09-16-2011, 02:13 AM

Originally Posted by Gandalfe

Brett, I get this message:

Sorry, the Fingering diagram builder is not compatible with Internet Explorer. Please consider trying a free alternative browser.

Really, that leaves a lot of us in the lurch.

Much like Microsoft left the Macintosh community in the lurch when they refused to update Internet Explorer past version 5.whatever. I still cringe when I encounter a web site that only works with Internet Explorer, and I have to crank up the fossil version I maintain on my hard drive.

**pete** · 09-16-2011, 03:37 AM

There is a program called WINE Bottler out there that has a self-contained version of IE. It's relatively easy to install. It looks kinda ugly -- at least, it did when I tried it about a year ago -- but it gives your Mac IE.

(Aside: the last version of IE for the Mac was 5.x. It doesn't run on anything past 10.3 or 10.4, IIRC.)