Reading the Windows Internet Explorer 8: Get the Facts marketing campaign instantly made me wonder, "When did Microsoft hire Oracle's marketing team?" While Oracle is getting much better, it was legendary for making bold claims by cherry-picking "data." It used to drive me nuts when I was in the IBM market intelligence group and was asked to pull background data to refute these claims -- not because the work was hard, but because I felt that the work was unnecessary. After a while, readers and customers learned to discount the bold claims.
In any case, back to the current story at hand: I'm probably more pro-Microsoft than most open source folks, which is why the IE8 marketing stings more than it should. I have nothing against IE8, and it may very well be an excellent browser. For what it's worth, I use both Firefox, the "View in IE" Firefox extension, and IE7 daily.
[ InfoWorld's Robert X. Cringely has some choice words for Microsoft regarding its latest browser too: Thinking about upgrading to IE8? Think twice | Keep up with the latest open source news with InfoWorld's open source newsletter and topic center. ]
When I read a comparison table and one product has a check on every item and the other two competitors have, at most, four checks, I am instantly wary of the comparison. Markets are way more competitive than the story Microsoft is painting with this comparison table.
I really wonder who Microsoft is targeting with this campaign. For most Windows corporate and consumer users, IE is on their desktop and they'll continue to use it. This campaign doesn't mean much to them, and can't really be targeted at them. If these users are using Firefox, it's because someone they know or someone in the IT department has convinced them to use Firefox. To get my little cousin to stop using Firefox, Microsoft has to get me to stop using Firefox and wait for me to tell her that IE8 is much better than Firefox.
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Download now »Wow. I stand in awe. From Microsoft's site:
"...many of the claims [by the competition] are comparing older versions of Internet Explorer to competitors' newest releases"
You mean like comparing IE8 to Firefox 3.0?
"Firefox and Chrome have more support for emerging standards like HTML5 and CSS3"
But since IE8 is catching up with CSS2.1, it gets equal credit for standards support. A stretch, but as long as you're consistent...
"Firefox and Chrome have one or the other."
Wait. IE8 gets full credit for supporting older standards, but when Firefox and Chrome have partial support, they get zero credit?
"Sure, Firefox may win in sheer number of add-ons, but many of the customizations ... are already a part of Internet Explorer 8"
Again, Microsoft gives itself full credit for having "some" of its competitors' capabilities, while giving its competitors zero credit for exactly the same thing.
"This one’s also a tie."
According to independent benchmarks I've seen, IE8 runs circles around IE7 - but is somewhat slower than either the latest Firefox OR Chrome. Again, Microsoft generously offers a tie when they are clearly beaten.
"All three run equally well on Windows, OS/X and Linux."
Just kidding. Even Microsoft couldn't lie *that* blatantly. :-) Only Firefox is truly cross-platform, although Chrome is making good progress here.
"All three run web apps off-line and in stand-alone windows. This one's also a tie."
Just kidding again. That would be Chrome.
It's Microsoft's site, so I suppose they can rig the data anyway they want (as they always so egregiously lie about Linux).
But they certainly obliterate any credibility they might have otherwise gained in browser discussions had they been even slightly honest.
What a miserable joke of a comparison.
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