Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 15-6-2025 — Internet Explorer

15th July, 2025: Internet Explorer.

It’s Sunday … 

And … ?

Lyse Doucet has just bee commenting on the conflict between Iran and Israel.

It’s says something, doesn’t it?

That the BBC’s international correspondent is commenting on a conflict … on a Sunday morning religious programme … 

~≈😐≈~

At any rate … ?

It’s Sunday … and I’m planning on going beck to bed.

Why … ?

I’ve managed to finish a review, late.

I just hope the review makes sense!

~≈🎦≈~

There’s a certain amount of irony doing the rounds.

There’s opposition to the current US president: leading to the No Kings protests.

There were a lot, yesterday: including one encountered by Old Peculiar regular, Debbi Mack.

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A post shared by Debbi Mack (@debbimacktoo)

Seeing the phrase ‘No Kings’?

Always gets me thinking of a line from some of Sir Terry Pratchett’s odder characters.

“Nae king! Nae quin! Nae laird! Nae master! We willna’ be fooled again!”

The Wee Free Men, Terry Pratchett.

Which potentially means protestors are supposed to paint themselves blue, and steal cows.

Go look up the Feegles, if you get the chance.

At any rate, the irony I mentioned?

Is simply this.

Many in the US were holding ‘No Kings’ protests … 

When the Charles 3rd, King of the UK … was attending the Trooping the Colour ceremony, to mark his birthday.

Heigh … ho … !

~≈👑≈~

About A Browser …

You know, I have to admit, I’ve had a (comparatively) busy couple of weeks.

What with scanning in the family photos.

Which, to be frank, is my slightly sneaky way of telling you that I meant to get this post done a couple of weeks ago.

But have only just now got round to starting it.

I would say Cie La Vie.

But that usually gives me too many mental images of Irish girl bands for my comfort, frankly … 

At ANY rate … ?

At ANY rate, you’ve probably figured I like following the tech news: frankly, I can’t afford as much new bits as I’d like, but that doesn’t stop me watching the BBC show, Click, to give you an example.

So, when I noticed this piece on the BBC’s site, about an Australian company charging customer’s extra for using the almost antique — in IT terms — Internet Explorer 7, I paid attention.

Especially as I’d also seen this article, about how Google were phasing out support for older browsers.

Which got me thinking.

The Work Programme I have to attend uses older PCs running Windoze XP and IE7.

As does my local job centre.

As far as I can tell, so does Brentwood Council.

As — keep following me, here — does Essex County Council: and their library services.

You can imagine what I did, can’t you … ?

I fired up Mail.app and sent an email off to the relevant person.   (The Interim Head of Libraries and Culture, Martin Palmer.)

Here’s what I said …

Dear Sir, 

My name is Paul, and I’m a blogger has taken something of an interest in technology.

And am a keen user of my local library, here in Brentwood.

Indeed, I’ve occasionally written about it: both favourably and otherwise.
And I have to admit, there’s something  I’d like to know.

As you may or may not know, Google has recently announced it will be dropping support for older web-browsers: including, but not limited to, Internet Explorer 7, Safari 3, and Firefox 3.5.

Mostly on the grounds it finds those — and earlier — to be both slow, and insecure, compared to more modern browsers.

Additionally, Microsoft has marked the fact Internet Explorer 6 is used by less than 1% of the world’s population.

What you may not ALSO be aware of, is the fact that Australian retailers, Kogan.com, have recently introduced a surcharge of 6.8%: specifically on users of Internet Explorer 7.

The company has similar security issues with the aging browser: but has introduced the charge in order to encourage users to switch to more modern browsers, as it found redesigning its site for IE7 took up more work than designing it for Firefox, Safari and Chrome.

Now, I have to admit, I’m raising this with you, as I cant help notice Brentwood Library is still using IE7.

Now, I’m sure you’ll remind me that the library’s copy of Internet Explorer 7 usually makes use of Bing as it’s default search engine: and that — as we are in the UK — not everyone will be using the Australian equivalent to Amazon.

However … ?

I’m very aware that accessing my Facebook account at Brentwood Library is becoming tricky.   What’s more, accessing my blog — hosted by Google’s Blogger service — is well-nigh impossible: something I’d expect to apply to other Google services, like YouTube or Googlemail, although they’re not something I’ve used from the library.

I also believe that other search engines — Yahoo, Jeeves and Microsoft’s own Bing service — will soon join Google in stopping support for IE7 and other aging browsers.
I also feel that I can’t be the only person to have been affected, this way.

So I have to ask a question, at this stage.

When will Essex Libraries be replacing Internet Explorer 7 with a more modern browser … ?

Now, I realise that many use mobile devices to access the web at their local library: and that upgrading Essex Libraries service will cost.

But I’m also aware that there’s equally as many — if not more — who rely on the computers at their local library.

And while I realise there’s a manpower cost involved, and that this needs to be done across Essex County Council services as a whole … ?

I also think not upgrading — at least to Internet Explorer 8 — will affect services for the people of Essex: AND for the councillors and council workers that serve them.

Yours,

And THAT’S possible one of the longest letters I’ve sent.

As soon as I get an answer to that … ?

I’ll pass it on.

That’s assuming I don’t get distracted … 

Bad News for Microsoft …

Hmmm …

Well …

THERE’S a bit of brewing news: and one I think is going to run, and run, and run, and RUN!

Say’s I, laughing!

Over the past few day’s, we’ve seen the news that technology giant, Google, declare that — after Gmail accounts belong ing to Chinese human rights activist were hacked, apparently by the Chinese government — they were thinking of pulling out of China.

Which — from some of the news items I’ve seen — can probably be blamed on the Great Satan, itself, Microsoft.

Well …

Indirectly …

It seems that the hackers who launched the attack, exploited holes in Internet Explorer. Specifically in Internet Explorer 6.

Now, various spokespeople from Microsoft have taken pains to reassure people that more recent versions of IE are fair more secure.

Where they haven’t been helped, of course, is in the simple fact that — in the past couple of days — government spokes-persons from both France and Germany have spoken out.

And told people to NOT use Internet Explorer.

You know, I’m patriotic enough to not usually pay much attention to countries that don’t speak English: whilst admitting I like the odd bit of Beethoven and Jean Michel Jarre.

•••••

Just as an aside, here, did you know the French used to call syphilis, ‘… the English disease’?

But I can’t help but think the name would more accurately should be given to the habit of us — as a nation — really only speak one language: I mean, it’s not like we’re encouraged to learn another …

Which I can’t help think is to our national discredit: Kevin Z spent a lot of university years on the continent, and was always pleasantly surprised to see how many people in his host nation spoke English and at least one other tongue, as well as their native language.

•••••

Now, where was I?

Oh, yes, France and Germany …

Usually I’m patriotic enough to have a dig at the French and Germans, as I’m half convinced that the French and Germans will have a dig at both us, and each other.

But in this case?

Armchair tech news watcher that I am, I can’t help but think “Boy, I’m glad I got a Mac, especially if the French and German’s are coming out with that … !”

But I really shouldn’t be crowing too much.

It’s a touch undignified, isn’t it?

But I can’t help but notice that Microsoft immediately had one of their European executive’s go on the BBC’s news channel, pointing out that other browsers will have security issues.

And that the exploited loophole was in the older — and better known — IE 6.

Now I can’t help but think that’s due to the fact that may just be down to its commonness.

After all, most of the people I know using PC’s, are using one’s running XP: the version of Windoze with IE 6 as it’s default browser.

It’s only recently that versions 7 and 8 of IE have got more common.

And — the computer market being what it is — vulnerabilities in those will be spotted before flaws in Safari, Firefox, or Opera …

They’re going to be far more common …

•••••

Actually, can I make a confession, here?

Can I?

I’ve had Channel 5 on in the background.

And they’ve been showing the Francis Ford Coppola version of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Nice to see it, again.

Ok, granted the love story between Gary Oldman’s beautifully played — and, BOY, did he look like he was having fun, making this one — Dracula, and Winona Rider’s Mina Harker wasn’t in the book.

But it is a fun, entertaining and gorgeous-looking take on the story.

And worth watching, just for Tom Waits Dribbling Loon routine, as Renfield!