Re: Are Internet Explorer users dumb?

On Fri, 29 Jul 2011 19:52:37 +0200, Alias
<aka@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On 07/29/2011 07:49 PM, Sordo wrote:
Are Internet Explorer users dumb?

By Doug Gross, CNN
July 29, 2011 11:58 a.m. EDT

(CNN) -- Are users of other Web browsers smarter than the people who
use Microsoft's Internet Explorer?

A new survey doesn't quite say so. But it sure as heck suggests it.

The survey by AptiQuaint, a Vancouver-based Web consulting company,
gave more than 100,000 participants an IQ test, while monitoring which
browser they used to take the test.

The result? Internet Explorer users scored lower than average, while
Chrome, Firefox and Safari users were slightly above average.

And users of the more obscure Camino and Opera browsers, as well as
those using Explorer with Chrome Frame (a plug-in designed to let
users view emerging HTML5 content), had what AptiQuaint called
"exceptionally higher" IQ levels.

Those numbers, it should be noted, probably aren't very scientific.
The field of test-takers was self-selecting -- people who chose, on
their own, to take an IQ test instead of a scientifically selected
study group. They found the test through Web searches or ads the
company placed online.

The report suggests that people using Explorer, the built-in, default
browser for Windows-based computers, may be more resistant to change.
A similar study in 2006 showed users on the then-current IE browser
scored above average.

Internet Explorer is the world's most popular browser, with about a
43% share, according to StatCounter. Firefox has just under 30%, and
Google's Chrome has 19%, according to a report from May.

Users of Internet Explorer 6, released in 2001, scored the lowest on
the tests, at just over 80. Users of Opera, the Norway-based browser,
scored the highest at well over 120. (What AptiQuaint called its
complete results included a bar graph showing the scores, but didn't
appear to have text giving the exact numbers.)

IQ scores have a "population mean" of 100.

If this all smacks of a little good, old-fashioned Microsoft hate, the
language the company uses in its report doesn't do much to downplay
that.

"It is common knowledge that Internet Explorer Versions 6.0 to 8.0 are
highly incompatible with modern web standards. In order to make
websites work properly on these browsers, web developers have to spend
a lot of unnecessary effort ...," said the report from AptiQuaint,
which offers online tools for employers to measure employee, and
potential employee, aptitude.

"Now that we have a statistical pattern on the continuous usage of
incompatible browsers, better steps can be taken to eradicate this
nuisance."

What!? No stats for Chromium or Maxthon? Course, if you had posted a
link, I could have checked it out for myself ...

I alternate between Firefox and Chrome. Have to use IE once a month
to pay my Time Warner bill online as its website does not support
other browsers for bill paying. Tried Safari but no love there.
Haven't heard of Opera for years now. I just downloaded it and will
give it a try.

.

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