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"IE w/ Chrome Frame plugin" would be a better choice than asking them to upgrade to IE8.

No, that puts the burden of keeping IE up to scratch on Google, which is just bizarre situation to be in. Chrome Frame is a quick fix, but it can't last forever.

I'll bet £100 that IE will never be Standards Compliant. Microsoft have demonstrated over and over again that they have no interest in being even remotely Standards Compliant. It would be better for the Internet as a whole if IE simply ceased to exist.

No browser is standards compliant. That's impossible; the "standards", at least pre-HTML5, contain ambiguities and self-conflicts. It's all a matter of degree. And I can't agree with your assessment, Microsoft has shown interest in improving their standards support repeatedly. Each browser was closer to the mark than the last.

But still miles behind the competition. Their improvements have been tiny and often incomplete. The discrepancies are far too great to be passed off as "we just need a little time to catch up". Microsoft aren't a bit player here. I'll judge them by the same standards I judge myself or anybody else; IE is a sad excuse for a browser, and IE9 will be just as bad as the rest.

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