Windows 7: IE9 vs. Firefox 3.6.3, Chrome 4.1, Opera 10.52, Safari

IE9 vs. Firefox 3.6.3, Chrome 4.1, Opera 10.52, Safari 4.05 vs. Same Markup

Internet Explorer 9’s evolution with the release of Platform Preview 2 is illustrative of the work the company is doing with the goal of achieving “same markup” across all browsers. But same markup (the same HTML, same CSS, and same script working seamlessly across all browsers) is not just about the Redmond-based company. It’s also about developers, standard bodies, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), and rival browser makers. Same markup is bound to make more sense to developers than to end users, IE9 Preview 1 and 2 are, after all, developer releases. The public needs to think of “same markup” in terms of interoperability, meaning that a website, any website, should work the same across any browser they run.

Browser interoperability is, as a general rule, a multi-way street and a multi-faceted problem. If it really didn’t seem so thus far is because of nothing more than aggressive marketing from a few players on the market. And let’s be fair, because Internet Explorer provided such an excellent target to blame for everything that was wrong with the web. But what if, one day, IE simply fell in line? Will the world (www) be ready to accept that browser interoperability comes with many, subtle nuances, which can be solved only through collaboration? Let’s hope so.