[WEB4LIB] Re: Browsers

[morganj at iupui.edu]

In addition to the factors mentioned below, I'd add that Microsoft's java
support seems less than enthusiastic, so Netscape might work better for
some sites.  Also both IE and Netscape have become very large programs, so
that we sometimes use Opera where speed is needed, and where hardware
resources are limited.

Jim Morgan
morganj at iupui.edu



On Fri, 4 Jun 1999, Richard L. Goerwitz wrote:

> David Merchant wrote:
> > 
> > At 07:04 AM 6/4/99 -0700, Peter Kendal wrote:
> > >Why do so many academic institutions use Netscape instead of IE?
> > >And why was this the case when Netscape had to be paid for?
> > 
> > Because back when Netscape had to be paid for, it was free for educational
> > institutions.  It came out before IE as well and educational institutions
> > was were the web was most used (at first).  This legacy means that NN is
> > used more often at institutions than IE but that is changing.
> 
> It's more than that (at least in my limited experience).
> 
> I remember the mood turning among some of my technical acquaintances when
> Microsoft started changing its licensing policies for its stock software
> (Word, etc.).  People started realizing how vulnerable a position they
> had put themselves in, relying so heavily on Microsoft.  A lot of people
> are still Macophiles, too, and, rather than blame Apple for turning the
> whole world off by its stance on intellectual property, just blindly vent
> at Microsoft, and refuse to use IE.
> 
> There's also the Linux factor.  Linux is coming more to the fore.  Since
> IE won't run under Linux (Microsoft really just wishes that Linux would
> go away), such institutions have little reason to go with IE (at least
> exclusively).
> 
> Smaller universities that lack technical capability, and tend to cut the
> sorts of one-vendor deals that we see in industry, do seem to be tending
> more towards IE these days.
> 
> Does anyone have any hard stats on browser usage in academia?
> 
> -- 
> 
> Richard Goerwitz
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>