Problems with Internet Explorer 11
and Apple iOS7
I sent out a mail about this, but I thought it would be a good idea to post it here just in case anyone missed it.
I just wanted to let everyone know that if you’re using the latest version of Internet Explorer (which is version 11) or the latest version of Apple’s iOS (which is iOS7), you might be encountering some temporary problems with the RUSC member’s area.
I just did a Google search for the phrase:
"problems with internet explorer 11”
and was amazed that there were already 13,200 results, so it looks like lots of people are having problems with displaying pages correctly on this latest version of Internet Explorer. Google and Outlook Web Access are both badly effected as is anything using Adobe Flash, and literally thousands of other sites.
Here's a link to a news article about the problems with IE11.
http://www.associatednews.com/technology/internet/microsoft-internet-explorer-11-again-plagued-with-compatibility-issues/5983
And the problem seems to be even worse if you’ve updated to Windows 8.1.
And things are no better at Apple HQ either. Many people have billed this latest iOS7 release as the worst ever. Particularly the latest version of the Safari browser. here's an article that talks about some of the problems:
http://www.sencha.com/blog/the-html5-scorecard-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-in-ios7/
It seems that on both Internet Explorer 11 and iOS 7 web sites that worked perfectly well before now no longer work, and some of these are big sites such as problems with YouTube on iOS7.
As someone put it on Apple’s own support forum:
“So... a pattern appears to be forming - it's knackered.”
I just wanted to make everyone was aware of these problems with Internet Explorer 11, Windows 8.1 and iOS7 as these three updates have caused webmasters all over the web (myself and Joy included) a whole heap of problems fixing things that were not broken in the first place.
If you are having any of these problems then the chances are pretty much certain that you are using Internet Explorer 11, Windows 8.1, or iOS7.
- Having to login multiple times
- Pages not displaying properly
- Audio stopping playing after 5 minutes
The moral of the story here is - as many of the techies amongst us will already know - is to wait until Microsoft and Apple have ironed out all the bugs before upgrading otherwise you just end up being an unpaid beta tester.
The easiest solution if you are on Internet Explorer 11 is to either downgrade it to Internet Explorer 10 (easier said that done if you're on Windows 8.1), or just install Chrome or Firefox. I’ve been using Chrome for quite a long while now and have found it to be far more reliable that Internet Explorer. I definitely wouldn't go back to Internet Explorer.
If you’ve upgraded you Apple iPhone, iTouch or iPad to the latest and greatest iOS7, then you should be fine again once I’ve got this new version of the mobile site working.
It doesn’t look like Apple or Microsoft will get their fixes done any time soon, so I’m busy making some tweaks to make sure RUSC works fine, even with these problematic new browsers, and should have everything sorted by next week, including a great new mobile version of the site.
For anyone interested in browser compatibility you might want to check out this web page:
http://html5test.com/results/desktop.html
That page clearly shows you how hopeless Internet Explorer 11 in comparison to Chrome, Firefox and Opera. It scores a measly 363 points in the HTML5 test out of a possible 555, whereas Chrome gets 503 points. And Safari is hardly any better with 397.
As far as mobile devices are concerned the very latest iOS7 gets just 412 compared to 484 for Chrome and 491 for Blackberry 10.
Joseph, a member of RUSC, emailed me the following and I have to say I agree with him completely.
"Sometimes don't you just want to yell out, "STOP IMPROVING YOUR PRODUCT!!" Their operating systems are so complicated now that every little tweak to fix this or that bug results in a thing like gum on your shoes. Really, all I ever want is functionality...not 7 million shades of every color in the rainbow and 3-D."
If in the meantime you are having any of problems using RUSC please do let me know as I do have some possible fixes that I can send you over - some of which have been kindly sent to me by members of RUSC. You can email me at nednorris@rusc.com.
When you get in touch please can you let me know what device you are using to access the site, which operating system you are using (e.g. Windows XP, Windows 8.1, Apple iOS7, etc) and which browser (Internet Explorer, Chrome, Safari, etc).
You know I'm always here to help so don't hesitate to get in touch if you are having a problem of any kind.
I'll make sure to keep everyone posted next week once I've got a fix in place, and once the new mobile version is ready. Hopefully it will be before Wednesday if all goes well.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend,
