X-Cart 4.6.2 upcoming changes

totaltec · #21 11-08-2013, 09:26 AM

I wish I could agree with dumping support for IE8, anyone designing a new site in 2014 should not have to worry about this junk browser.

But, it is only 4 years old since it's public release in 2009. According to my recent check of Browser statistics it still holds almost 10% of the total market share.

Don't get me wrong, I seriously dislike IE in general. But I find it hard to dump support for it yet. IE7 and 6 are dead, but IE8 is still kicking. Of course, depending on where you look for browser data, you will get very different results.

According to this site: http://www.w3counter.com/globalstats.php IE8 is in the top 4 browsers. I find that consistently it is in the top 4, though its percentage market share fluctuates widely depending on the source.

cflsystems · #22 11-08-2013, 09:30 AM

Yes there are. Especially corporate and in Asia. But I think XC out of the box should drop this support and have better compliant and nicer code instead of bloating it with if statements, additional js, etc. because someone out there may be using the store with IE6 or 7 or 8... If this is needed it can be tested and added during development

It's like building a new car and adding cassette player just because there are a lot of old guys out there like me that have hundreds of cassettes with music

and we like to listed to them

carpeperdiem · #23 11-08-2013, 09:44 AM

Steve, the difference is that I am the merchant and I want the customer to spend money in my store.

WHY would I put up a speedbump (effectively prohibiting customer) from coming into my store, just because they have a 6 year old computer?

WinXP/IE8 is still used by enough customers to keep it on the short list. FWIW, i am still using an XP machine in my office for shipping, playing music and general email for customer service. It's a dinosaur, yes, but I own it, and it works. WHY should I disrupt my life for more than 10 seconds to upgrade it to a newer OS (which I have already purchased for this machine, but just no time to deal with the install and configuration)? I'm not alone. I will guess millions of business computers are using XP simply because they work, and there is no benefit to the user/company/IT manager to touch it.

OTOH, my personal desktop and laptops are less than-12 months old and have absolute latest software. But I am not expecting my customers to do the same.

cflsystems · #24 11-08-2013, 09:52 AM

No, not stopping customers to shop. This will not stop them from seeing the site and be able to purchase, it will just inform them about the browser and it may eventually not work as expected. See Vladimir post

Quote:

2) This leads us to stop the IE8 support since X-Cart 4.6.2 version. There are no major issues currently, so it can be used by your customers, but now the smooth browsing is not guaranteed.

Also if this support is needed when the store is being developed it can be requested.

This is one of this things for which there is no one opinion. You are right but so am I

it depends on the view.

carpeperdiem · #25 11-08-2013, 10:00 AM

Quote:

it will just inform them about the browser and it may eventually not work as expected

Ala Abercrombie & Fitch - "no fatties" -- until they discovered that plus-sized customers spend money too.

http://business.time.com/2013/11/06/abercrombie-fitch-begs-the-fat-kids-for-another-chance/

I would never EVER in a zillion years popup a warning for my customer telling them that their computer is too old (or they are too fat). Not in my store. If a customer has "reasonably" old hardware - let's say 6 years old - the expectation is that they can go shopping.

I'm not wearing dev hat right now, because I simply know my customers.
yes, we are both right. And as merchant I can choose to not upgrade my site to remain compatible with old (fat) customers.

cflsystems · #26 11-08-2013, 10:18 AM

Now we are changing this thread headline, maybe QT can split

http://thenextweb.com/google/2013/09/16/google-analytics-to-drop-internet-explorer-8-support-at-the-end-of-2013/

http://theie8countdown.com/

http://www.infoworld.com/t/javascript/jquery-20-drops-support-old-versions-of-internet-explorer-216898

I am sorry and I understand your point of view but it will become not only difficult but impossible to have store that supports older versions of IE. The above are just some examples but more core store libraries will follow if not yet doing it.

jQuery is main component - if 4.6.2 is moving to v2 there will be no support for IE8 not because QT dropped it but because jQuery did... Going back to jQuery 1.x will probably require more changes to XC to make other components work... It is all related

And with Google dropping support as well - GA is just the beginning - there will be incomplete or incorrect data to analyze...

carpeperdiem · #27 11-08-2013, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cflsystems

And with Google dropping support as well

Google is dropping support for using IE8 to access the GA application, not for tracking customers!

cflsystems · #28 11-08-2013, 01:37 PM

All Im saying is everyone is dropping support for IE and I think QT dropping it too for the upcoming version is the right thing to do, but that's me.

QT, speaking of upcoming version - it looks like it will not be only bug fixes from 4.6.1 but more. Is that right?

totaltec · #29 11-08-2013, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cflsystems

All Im saying is everyone is dropping support for IE and I think QT dropping it too for the upcoming version is the right thing to do, but that's me.

I have to agree. If all the web developers banded together and dropped it at once that would certainly force the issue.

"Upgrade or our web bots will kill you."

carpeperdiem · #30 11-08-2013, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by totaltec

If all the web developers banded together and dropped it at once that would certainly force the issue.

Unfortunately, in business, web developers don't get to make these kinds of decisions - the customer do.

My customer decides if my pricing is correct.
My customer decides if my products have value.
My customer decides if they will shop my site.

I can't believe I am lobbying for IE8, let alone a microsoft product!! I am an apple fan-boy for the most part, and only use IE when I have no other choice. WIth that said, my customers are not apple fan-boiys, and many use IE8 on winXP. I will not ignore them until the numbers get to 2% or less.
Just saying.

I don't care that Apple no longer sells computers with optical drives. CDs aren't dead because Apple stopped selling optical drives. But now we're WAAAAY OT!