Posts Tagged Internet Explorer
Congressmen interfere with W3C over Do Not Track
Posted by Michael B. Calyn in Internet on June 20, 2012
A sign of the times
Congressmen interfere with W3C over Do Not Track
Louis Goddard
20/06/2012
In a move that shows just how high-profile an issue online tracking has become, the co-chairs of the United States’s Congressional bi-partisan privacy caucus have sent a letter to the W3C urging it to support the Do Not Track (DNT) standard. Addressing members of the Tracking Protection Working Group (TPWG), the two congressmen — Democrat Ed Markey and Republican Joe Barton — refer specifically to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 10, which was recently slapped down for enabling DNT by default.
“In anticipation of the next W3C Tracking Protection Working Group meeting in Bellevue, Washington from June 20-22, we urge W3C participants to commit to user control over both data collection and use”, reads the missive. “[W]e call on W3C participants to make the protection of consumer privacy a priority and support Microsoft’s announcement by endorsing a default Do Not Track setting.”
Whether members of the TPWG will take kindly to the Representatives’ interference remains to be seen. Ed Markey’s legislative director, Joseph Wender, has brought the letter to the attention of the group’s mailing list, but, as of the time of writing, he hasn’t received any replies.
We’re not sure if it’s strictly ‘unprecedented’, but it’s certainly an odd move. If your standards body is receiving pleading letters from Congress, you must be doing something right — that said, this particular story bears all the hallmarks of a PR push by hoary old legislators attempting to seem with-it and technologically savvy.
Louis Goddard
Congressmen interfere with W3C over Do Not Track.
Related articles
- Microsoft defends default Do Not Track in IE10 (pcpro.co.uk)
- Could the W3C stop IE 10′s Do Not Track plans? (neowin.net)
- To Track or Not to Track? Not Just a Question, a Choice (blogs.technet.com)
- Do Not Track should not be enabled by default says W3C proposal (h-online.com)
- Admen Spot an Enemy: W3C (technologyreview.com)
- Microsoft Not Backing Down On IE10 ‘Do Not Track’ By Default (techweekeurope.co.uk)
- Microsoft Won’t Back Down On Offering ‘Do Not Track’ By Default In Internet Explorer (forbes.com)
- Standards group to bar IE10 from claiming ‘Do Not Track’ compliance (techworld.com.au)
- Provenance Access and Query Draft Published (w3.org)
- W3C: ‘Do not track’ by default? A thousand times NO (go.theregister.com)
Use old Internet Explorer? It’s gonna cost you
Posted by Michael B. Calyn in Business, Economics, Internet, Society, Technology on June 14, 2012
Use old Internet Explorer? It’s gonna cost you
PAUL SMITHp
Ruslan Kogan is well known for finding ways of stirring up publicity by targeting high profile companies for criticism. Luis
Acui
Online retailer electronics Kogan has found a new way to stir up publicity, with a new tax on customers who visit its website using Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 7 web browser, which means they will spend 6.8 per cent more than customers using browsers such as Firefox, Opera, Safari and Chrome.
IE7 is still used by many Australians, particularly from work computers, where IT departments have not kept pace with available updates. The current version of Microsoft’s browser is IE9.
In a blog post, company founder Ruslan Kogan said it was too hard and costly to make his website display properly on IE7, and suggested a list of newer browsers to use. In an interesting move he chose to suggest Firefox, Opera, Safari and Chrome, but not the later Microsoft browser.
Mr Kogan is well known for finding ways to stir up publicity by targeting high-profile companies for criticism. His usual sparring partner is Harvey Norman boss Gerry Harvey, but he has set his sights on global attention by picking on Microsoft.
Users who arrive at the Kogan site using IE7 will get a popup notice alerting them to the tax.
Mr Kogan said his company kept prices low by using technology to make its business efficient and streamlined. However its web team was having to spend a lot of time making its new website look normal on IE7.
“It’s not only costing us a huge amount, it’s affecting any business with an online presence, and costing the internet economy millions,” Mr Kogan said.
“As internet citizens, we all have a responsibility to make the internet a better place. By taking these measures, we are doing our bit.”
Use old Internet Explorer? It’s gonna cost you.
Related articles
- Kogan Hates IE7 So Much It’s Imposing A Tax On All Shoppers That Use The Browser (techcrunch.com)
- Electronics retailer Kogan slaps 6.8 percent tax on Internet Explorer 7 users (macdailynews.com)
- Kogan Hates IE7 So Much It’s Imposing A Tax On All Shoppers That Use The Browser (netwidz.com)
- Kogan to tax shoppers for using IE7 (delimiter.com.au)
- Aussie Online Retailer Impose IE7 Tax (tech.slashdot.org)
- Kogan starts imposing Internet Explorer 7 Tax on purchases (geek.com)
- Kogan tax: Online shoppers punished for using IE7 (news.com.au)
- Australia: Kogan’s tax for all shoppers using Microsoft’s IE7 to order products online (nextlevelofnews.com)
- Kogan ‘taxes’ IE7 users (go.theregister.com)
- Kogan Imposing Tax On Shoppers Who Use IE7 | Lifehacker Australia (onecoolsitebloggingtips.com)
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