http://www.microsoft.com/australia/ie8/competition/

 

 

 

Wow...talk about desperation.

10k wouldn't be bad.

 

But it's kinda funny they have to fish for people with money.

 

I must say tho, i actually am a bit annoyed about the EU on Win7. In the EU, Win7 will come without IE installed. EU got too much power (for example, they are working on trying to pass halal-slaughter into the EU law (i [bleep]ing hate it)).

 

I think my biggest problems with IE is that there's too little customization options, too long time before bugs/holes are fixed and also the fact it's integrated in the system so deeply. I have no problem with it being proprietary (i myself use Opera which is proprietary).

I wanna try to find the 10k using another browser to see if I can find it for the lolz

Wow. That is desperation.

Wow. That is desperation.

 

Indeed. Funny how they don't refer to Firefox at all.

This is good. I don't care if people use IE, as long as they use the latest one. Microsoft is working on the standards support, give them credit. Although IE isn't currently at a respectable level of web standards compliance and support, future versions will improve on this. The only thing that matters with a browser is what score it gets on the Acid tests, in my opinion. :) That is why Opera 10 owns you all. 100% perfection.

 

 

 

Microsoft hasn't put much thought into the programs that come with the operating system in the past, although they are starting to change this. Look at Paint, Calculator and IE on Windows XP. They are not very good programs. Now look at them on Windows 7. Paint has slightly improved (they really should REPLACE it with Paint.NET and hire the guy who writes it), Calculator has taken an incredible jump, and IE8 is much better than IE6.

 

 

 

If you notice the products that Microsoft *doesn't* include with the OS and sells separately, like Visual Studio and Office, those excel and are quite good. Microsoft focuses most of its resources into designing frameworks - basically providing YOU the tools to make good programs, rather than making the programs themselves. This philosophy works quite well, and is one of the main reasons Microsoft is so successful - developers, developers, developers! Anyone who hates Microsoft is immature and I can tell you that a lot of Apple users only use Macs because they think it makes them hip and cool. And anyone who has the audacity to call me a Microsoft fan-boy is also immature. Microsoft is a great company, and I recognize that, but I recognize their faults too. No company is perfect, Microsoft included, but you cannot deny the positive things that do come out of the company.

I wonder what M$ would say if someone actually does it with Firefox/Opera/Safari/Netscape/Chrome/Konqueror/Netscape/anything but IE? :lol: I will at least try, with some hack... err... data manipulation it should be possible :P

 

 

 

EDIT: And it is possible, I just got the hintbox visible on Firefox :P

 

 

 

[hide=IE8 competition works really well on Firefox][/hide]

I'd rather have Firefox than 10 grand to be honest. No way I'd ever go back to IE...

I wonder what M$ would say if someone actually does it with Firefox/Opera/Safari/Netscape/Chrome/Konqueror/Netscape/anything but IE?

 

 

 

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/59

 

You'll have to add a custom user-agent string for IE8, which is Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 8.0; Windows NT 6.0)

 

 

 

Go go go :P

I wonder what M$ would say if someone actually does it with Firefox/Opera/Safari/Netscape/Chrome/Konqueror/Netscape/anything but IE?

 

 

 

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/59

 

You'll have to add a custom user-agent string for IE8, which is Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 8.0; Windows NT 6.0)

 

 

 

Go go go :P

 

 

 

I already did that, though with another add-on, works perfectly :P Too bad there are no hints yet, can't wait for them!

 

 

 

BTW, anybody from Australia here? If I happen to solve this (which is very unlikely, 10K$ is pretty much, lots of competition), I want to know who will get the money! (only people from Australia can claim the prize -.-)

I wonder what M$ would say if someone actually does it with Firefox/Opera/Safari/Netscape/Chrome/Konqueror/Netscape/anything but IE? :lol: I will at least try, with some hack... err... data manipulation it should be possible :P

 

 

 

"Your prize is void, we're giving it to someone else, you lose"? ;)

I wonder what M$ would say if someone actually does it with Firefox/Opera/Safari/Netscape/Chrome/Konqueror/Netscape/anything but IE? :lol: I will at least try, with some hack... err... data manipulation it should be possible :P

 

 

 

"Your prize is void, we're giving it to someone else, you lose"? ;)

 

 

 

...or maybe the page just won't render in anything but IE8 because of some specific feature or something... whatever.

I wonder what M$ would say if someone actually does it with Firefox/Opera/Safari/Netscape/Chrome/Konqueror/Netscape/anything but IE? :lol: I will at least try, with some hack... err... data manipulation it should be possible :P

 

 

 

"Your prize is void, we're giving it to someone else, you lose"? ;)

 

 

 

...or maybe the page just won't render in anything but IE8 because of some specific feature or something... whatever.

 

 

 

Most likely they just parse the user agent string...

3000 upside down (im gonna find this on firefox if it kills me)

Interestingly if you flip the entire phrase (3000 upside down) upside down, the only character that isn't kept the same or transformed into another recognizable one is the e (and maybe the i).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not sure if it's significant, there isn't much to go by.

 

 

 

Edit: New clue is FbWiFnRg. Lowercase letters spell bing, however I haven't been able to formulate a search query that does anything (bing.fr doesn't seem to be it either).

Interestingly if you flip the entire phrase (3000 upside down) upside down, the only character that isn't kept the same or transformed into another recognizable one is the e (and maybe the i).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not sure if it's significant, there isn't much to go by.

 

 

 

Edit: New clue is FbWiFnRg. Lowercase letters spell bing, however I haven't been able to formulate a search query that does anything (bing.fr doesn't seem to be it either).

 

 

 

Hmm, I tried searching FWR in www.bing.com. One of the results on the first page shows a bunch of acronyms on what it could mean.

This is good. I don't care if people use IE, as long as they use the latest one. Microsoft is working on the standards support, give them credit.

 

No. They deserve no credit. They've had years and years to do it, and they've failed. Their crimes against web design are unforgivable.

 

Although IE isn't currently at a respectable level of web standards compliance and support, future versions will improve on this.

 

IE is at a despicable level of web standards compliance. Of course it will improve, there's nowhere else it can go.

 

The only thing that matters with a browser is what score it gets on the Acid tests, in my opinion. :) That is why Opera 10 owns you all. 100% perfection.

 

snip

 

and IE8 is much better than IE6.

 

snip

 

Microsoft is a great company, and I recognize that, but I recognize their faults too.

 

1. Opera gets a 100/100 "With issues" according to Wikipedia. (See Acid3) Safari is currently the only browser that passes 100/100 without any issues (Chrome fails the linktest).

 

2. Oh, wow. They had seven and a half years in which to improve it, and they did!

 

3. Not all of them apparently.

Newest hint:

 

 

 

You are now watching 370211931299

 

 

 

Okay... :?

370211931299

 

^i't's a time. like, how time is coded in websites.

Could the number be a youtube video ID?

I worked out 3000 Upside Down and You are now watching 370211931299

 

 

 

No idea what FbWiFnRg or a predatory fish being earnest means though.

Could the number be a youtube video ID?

 

 

 

Ebay ID is what I found.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... tsupported

 

 

 

Fitting, too. (as well as with "You are now watching")

 

Unix time comes to Wed, 20 Jul 13701 07:34:59 GMT, so that's not very useful.

 

 

 

3000 Upside down could be a page number. I'll have to get a hand on a copy of the book :P

 

Not sure about how clue two fits in, though.

 

 

 

And "New clue: a predatory fish being earnest"

 

Hmm

3000 upside down could also mean 'WWW' - roman numbers you see ;)

This is good. I don't care if people use IE, as long as they use the latest one. Microsoft is working on the standards support, give them credit.

 

No. They deserve no credit. They've had years and years to do it, and they've failed. Their crimes against web design are unforgivable.

 

Although IE isn't currently at a respectable level of web standards compliance and support, future versions will improve on this.

 

IE is at a despicable level of web standards compliance. Of course it will improve, there's nowhere else it can go.

 

The only thing that matters with a browser is what score it gets on the Acid tests, in my opinion. :) That is why Opera 10 owns you all. 100% perfection.

 

snip

 

and IE8 is much better than IE6.

 

snip

 

Microsoft is a great company, and I recognize that, but I recognize their faults too.

 

1. Opera gets a 100/100 "With issues" according to Wikipedia. (See Acid3) Safari is currently the only browser that passes 100/100 without any issues (Chrome fails the linktest).

 

2. Oh, wow. They had seven and a half years in which to improve it, and they did!

 

3. Not all of them apparently.

 

 

 

I know they've had years to do it, and I'm angry they have not done so a long time ago, BUT they are trying now, and although they've started extremely late, they've started. It's fine to be critical of MS for such a late start, but DO give them credit for doing anything at all. Sometimes you have to forgive.

 

 

 

"IE is at a despicable level of web standards compliance. Of course it will improve, there's nowhere else it can go." You repeated what I said, in different words. OK.

 

 

 

On 1: That was from 2008, I believe. I don't know if it still has that issue or not, but no doubt it will be fixed in the final release, which is what counts. You know what Alpha means, right? I said Opera 10 owns, not Opera 10 Alpha.

 

 

 

It's not a perfect world. Some people are slower than others, and we just have to accept it. Focus on the future, and getting Microsoft to do good work NOW, rather than focus on past faults.

I'd love someone to get it on Firefox :lol:

 

The 'win 10k' advert itself looks a bit cheap, looks more like a popup than an IE8 advert lol.