Along with Google, Digg, and other websites out there, YouTube has joined the steady and inexorable march towards an internet devoid of Internet Explorer 6. Developers and web-types dislike IE6, so this move is generally applauded by the masses. It does, however, put many businesses that rely on the outdated browser in a tight spot.

Why? Well, it’s complicated. For most people, happily, upgrading is a simple matter of clicking a button and downloading the new version (then grumbling a bit and going for a coffee refill when they have to restart their browsers). But what happens to all the companies that use software and intranet apps that are incompatible with the newer versions? Upgrading isn’t as simple as clicking a button, it’s a matter of upgrading extensive and sometimes expensive dependent software, some of which is not upgradeable (necessitating purchasing/writing new programs). You can therefore understand that this is a more complex issue. The companion side to this same issue is that many companies, especially large ones, do not allow individual users to install anything on their own machines. So, as you can imagine, updating an entire company with thousands of employees and computers means tens of thousands of man hours to get the upgrade completed.

But what are the implications of this expanding movement to bury IE6 once and for all?

Developers and Designers Rejoice
While not a rioting-and-drinking-in- the-street kind of revolution, I imagine the collective sigh of relief and happiness across the US might well exceed wind speeds of 15-20 mph.

New Jobs
Like the Y2K software glitches and eventual switch, I imagine companies and freelancing contractors will pop up who specialize in updating IE6-reliant code, and go to work trying to make the old software compatible with newer versions of IE or other browsers. Though quite an undertaking, and expensive to boot, it’s an option (and frankly, a fairly likely eventuality).

New Permissions
Part of the problem for some companies is that individual users do not have permission to download anything—anything—on their work computers, including the new versions of Internet Explorer. This means that any time a user needs an upgrade, an IT employee must go to every single station. In reality, this draconian shackling of employees is simply not necessary. If you’re worried about people Facebooking or Tweeting on company time—or surfing proscribed websites—it’s time to face the fact that they’re doing it anyway via smart phones. A little thing like strict permission filtering is hardly going to stop the die-hard Farmville player or Twitterer.

Browser Wars
It is entirely possible that this move will force—or at the very least encourage—corporations to look into allowing users to install and operate some of the open source browser programs like Chrome and Firefox, using IE6 to only support whatever programs or applications still rely on it.

Buying New Computers
Some users, especially individuals, might opt to simply buy a new computer that will have the newer IE versions already loaded. It might be a good niche marketing campaign to target those non-savvy IE6 users in this demographic and help them choose the right new machine.

Viva la Browser Revolución
Let’s face it: this was inevitable. The internet is a living, evolving technology, and renouncing (and then thoroughly abusing) worn-out and outdated software is just part of the internet landscape. The time is ripe to step into the twenty-first century and embrace a better, more secure and efficient way to browse with any of the newer software options out there. Complaining will solve nothing, and even finding work-around solutions is probably more trouble than it’s worth in the end (especially as they might well become just as quickly outdated, leaving it all to do over again).

Embrace your destiny and join the Revolution!

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