Internet Explorer 8: incompatibility mode

Standards mode on the left, compatibility mode on the right.

Although many websites work and have been added to the compatibility list, many which have ActiveX, Java, Flash and Web 2.0 don't show up very well at all. Globrix is a highly used property search engine in the UK and appears alright, but still breaks in certain places.

For more on this post, visit the iGeneration blog.

Standards mode on the left, compatibility mode on the right.

The UK's biggest police force, the Metropolitan Police, their website doesn't appear broken until closer inspection. Styling on the website isn't perfect as everything appears in slightly different fonts and sizes, bold and unbolded.

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Standards mode on the left, compatibility mode on the right.

For students who use the Blackboard or WebCT applications will suffer greatly. As IE8 will be rolled out through automatic updates later on this year, it would be a tremendous failing if IE8 is set as the default browser without compatibility mode turned on.

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Standards mode on the left, compatibility mode on the right.

As you can see, on the left there is no menu whereas on the right the menu appears. Without the menu appearing, students can lose out on a lot of the content given to them for each module/group.

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Standards mode on the left, compatibility mode on the right.

Wordpress.com, one of the most used blogging websites in the world, famed for Web 2.0 and a clean experience, doesn't show when web standards mode is enabled. This isn't just a blow for IE8, but a massive one for Wordpress. Behind the scenes in the dashboard works alright though.

For more on this post, visit the iGeneration blog.