

Ask YC: Would YC.Newsers try a web service that works only on IE? - eusman

If currently a web site doesn't support Firefox/Safari/Opera would you still try it out?
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ivankirigin
IE only isn't a web service ... it's crippled desktop software. My last
company used an EXTREMELY expensive service called Windchill. It was used
because CVS was free, worked cross platform, and relatively bug free. Fractal
wrong, so to speak.

Windchill only comes available through IE. That meant that the 1/2 of the
company on linux boxes needed dual boot machines to use it.

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pg
It's not so much a question of would as could. I'd have to install IE first.
And it would take a lot to make me do that.

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xirium
Running IE precludes an operating system and hardware on which it runs. If you
asked about developing for Firefox only then I'd strongly recommend it. This
browser can be run on many operating systems. Most importantly, early adopters
who are likely to use this browser are more likely to be an early adopter of
your service. For the same reason, I'd recommend developing a Firefox plugin
rather than an IE plugin.

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mixmax
>"If you asked about developing for Firefox only then I'd strongly recommend
it."

I know that this is a tech site, and that I am probably get modded down for
saying this: But that is absolutely ridicolous. Basically what you are doing
if you are only developing for firefox is opening a shop where you only let
10% of your customeres through the door. The rest will have to go home, or go
to you competition.

I mean, seriously... Business 101 guys ;-)

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cstejerean
No, the other option is for your customers to install Firefox. Now this isn't
always something you can demand/expect of your users. But for example for a
free service or during a beta period it's perfectly reasonable. Most IE market
share is not early adoption friendly. If they wouldn't fear new technology
they would be on Firefox already. Either they never heard of Firefox or don't
want to try it out. Neither one is a quality that indicates early adopter.

~~~
mixmax
>"No, the other option is for your customers to install Firefox. Now this
isn't always something you can demand/expect of your users. But for example
for a free service or during a beta period it's perfectly reasonable"

So you think that users will go through the trouble of installing a new
browser to see a free website or a product in beta? Good luck with that...

It seems to me that a lot of really good programmers (of which you seem to be
one, judging from your comments) don't mingle a lot with "normal" people.
These are the ones that have normal lives, use their computer only as a tool
that is expected to just work, and use IE because it came with the computer.

And they are the ones that will pay for products. Early adopters are a really
hard crowd to make money from, they expect everything to be free, and they
will move on as soon as something more exciting comes along.

I would never launch a product, not even in a beta, that only works in
firefox, Not only do you lose more than half of your potential customers, but
it also sends a signal that either you are not very good at what you do since
you only seem to be able to make it work in one browser, or else that you
don't much care. Both are pretty bad.

~~~
cstejerean
Well it's certainly true that I probably mix with many regular users. But of
the people I know my parents are the least likely to buy products from the web
or sign up for a subscription website. But yes, they do run IE because it came
with the computer.

On the other hand a lot of my friends run either Ubuntu or OSX and shop online
often. They tend to try out new services while they're still in Beta and sign
up for paid services.

So that's what I personally base my decision on when I take a first cut at
building a webapp. YMMV

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mixmax
Well unless your friends are your core audience you should be wary of that
approach. You tend to hang out with people that hold the same values that you
do yourself. If you think that they are representative of the population as a
whole you are headed for trouble.

Just saying... :-)

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robmnl
No, I'm on a mac, don't have access to IE.

It's definitely ok to release an alpha that only works in a certain browser,
but make sure you tell people, and be prepared to cut some people off.

~~~
ivankirigin
what, you wouldn't use Parallels just to use windows to use IE to try the
service?!

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walesmd
Probably not. The only time IE gets run is when I need to test a design.

Your service would really have to offer something amazing that I simply could
not live without and that there were no competitors.

So far, I haven't found a single service like that.

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bootload
_"... If currently a web site doesn't support Firefox/Safari/Opera would you
still try it out? ..."_

What no Lynx support? No way man. Wouldn't touch it with a pole.

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phuego
If it didn't support any browser than IE, I'd pass. Those guys are digging
themselves a hole if it is dependant on IE centric code from day one.

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eusman
it's not much of being IE centric as to designing an api first and insteaad of
losing time on stupid JS/DOM dependancies (things you can fix later for less
cost), just get it maybe to most users for whom IE is the internet.

~~~
cstejerean
IIRC there are more IE related JS/DOM bugs than Firefox ones. In FF you also
have Firebug which makes development less painful. So why would it help to
make an IE version only first? The only reason I can think is if you're using
ASP.NET and the funky HTML generation that it and Visual Studio do.

~~~
eusman
of what i know of IE suffers from certain memory leakage issues and that alone
makes you write more careful JS code, that is if you are aware of them. So, if
you can avoid these and achieve satisfactory functionality between all recent
versions of IE (especially when putting these on their limits) , you can later
fix your code working for Mozzila. Of course you could do it simultaniously
but would it worth to lose even more time in cotrast of going online. (not a
.NET. fan)

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kajecounterhack
I would not! Though I could use my IE for Wine, why would I go through the
trouble just to visit a site? If they're not going to cater to me as an Ubuntu
user, then they can count me out of their target population.

Its like what paul said, except for me, even though I technically "can," I
won't go through the extra trouble.

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boucher
I don't usually try anything out that doesn't work in Safari, unless I have a
vested interest in doing so.

Of course, that often means that Google products aren't useable for a year or
so after they launch...

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lanej0
Sure... are you providing the Windows machine to test it? I'll send you my
shipping address.

C'mon. What is it, ActiveX, or does the layout just break horribly in a proper
web browser?

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pc
Not a chance.

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hollerith
I'd have to install Windows or buy a Mac. And it would take a lot to make me
do that.

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icky
Nope.

If it were _really_ compelling, I'd turn on the user-agent switcher plugin and
_pretend_ to be running IE. ;-)

If you absolutely must target a proprietary platform, make it Flash.

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nreece
Will I try it out on IE, sure! Will I use it on IE on a regular basis, not so
sure!

What's the big deal with making it cross-browser, unless you are thinking of a
short-cut?

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streblo
no. i don't have IE and i never intend on installing it.

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brlewis
Sure, why not? IE spits out a lot of warning messages in my gnome terminal,
but aside from that WINE seems to be working just fine. What's the URL?

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s3graham
Nope.

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mightybyte
Since I don't use IE...no.

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nextmoveone
if i heard enough about it or it interested me i would try it. but i doubt i
would use it, firefox and safari are my browsers of choice .

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thorax
Yeah, if it was cool enough, I'd try it out in IE.

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alaskamiller
Would Y Combinator fund a company that makes a plugin to one kind of mail
client?

~~~
rokhayakebe
xobni or inbox backwards

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initself
No.

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dawnerd
No.

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bayareaguy
No.

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rokhayakebe
user pleeeease

