Sometimes widespread adoption is a handicap (unintended consequences).

The 'About' dialog from Internet Explorer 9 released in 2011; today is Feb 13, 2014. This is the version I use at work.

Example: The Internet Explorer web browser has been adopted by many large companies as a campus-wide standard.

Great for Microsoft, right? They own the office desktop and browser experience across traditional business. Loads of licences and users conditioned to the Microsoft UX, like babies sucking on McDonald's French fries.

Well, not really, because...

New browser versions are not always backward compatible with the homegrown applications these companies write for the browser. So they can’t upgrade the browser until all their affected apps are rewritten.

What happens?

Users get stuck looking at a 3-year old version of IE while newer flashy versions of Chrome and Firefox operate right next to it. If you’re in design land, you may have an Airbook open next to your desktop, or a Chromebook, creating an even greater contrast.

This makes IE feel antiquated and slow, and slots it in our mental midden alongside time clocks, cloth cubicles, and staff meetings.

No company wants that.

This is just an example. The browser wars have turned into OS wars for mobile devices and cloud computing, but the principle remains.

[2014-02-13]

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