Microsoft created a monster, and it’s not the smoldering remnants of Windows XP users. It’s actually Internet Explorer 6. Microsoft wants you to help lay IE6’s weary code to rest, and has officially set up a global deathwatch in the hopes of increasing awareness that there are indeed versions Internet Explorer beyond 6. Microsoft pegs global usage of IE6 at 12 percent as of Feburary 2011 and wants it to drop to 1 percent. So why is it so high?

It’s easy to blame your grandparents for never bothering to update their computer, but consistent IE6 usage is actually coming from a far bigger source than the nation’s elderly. Microsoft’s own IE6 Countdown claims that China is the biggest culprit, with 34.5 percent of users using IE6. South Korea follows second with 24.7 percent. You’ll be happy to know that America only has 2.9 percent of users running IE6, but we’re not the best by a long shot. Norway and Finland get the prize for most progressive and updated, with both countries clocking in at less than 1 percent.

But what’s the big deal, really? Microsoft says web developers are spending too much time making things work for IE6 when they could be shifting resources elsewhere. The company’s blog — which made the IE6 Countdown announcement on March 4, 2011 — believes developers want users to have “modern” browsers so they can take advantage of using “the beautiful new world” of HTML5.

Microsoft is also asking users to investigate migration paths for Internet Explorer 8 in corporate environments. Not only does it include more features, it also has added security, the company notes.

It’s a daunting task to get IE6 usage down to less than 1 percent worldwide, and since Microsoft’s own counter says that the percentage only dropped 9 percent last year (to 12 percent) it may take another year and a half before we see the demise of the once-great web browser.

Here at The VAR Guy, we know the IE6 eradication plan has channel implications. How many partners are still supporting IE6 in corporate environments, be it requiring maintenance of IE6 through security procedures, or special requests for IE6 loaded on specific system builds? It’s well-known IE6 can impact cloud adoption, since many new cloud-based web portals require something more robust than a 10-year-old browser.

It’s a positive move by Microsoft to take responsibility for its creation and urge users to upgrade for the greater good of the Internet. But this also begs the question: who’s still using Internet Explorer? According to stats from W3schools.com (a site dedicated to tracking usage of more ‘techy’ people’s habits), FireFox has a commanding lead of almost 43 percent for January 2011, with Internet Explorer trailing with a little more than 26 percent of the browser space. Chrome is a close third with nearly 24 percent. But that means that the majority of web users are already using HTML5-ready browsers that don’t come from Microsoft.

Wikipedia has global stats, showing that as of January 2011 the median worldwide use of IE hit 43 percent, with Firefox trailing at almost 30 percent. Still, 43 percent is less than half, and trends show that IE usage has been in a steady, continual nose-dive since 2008.

So is IE6 even an epidemic? Ot is Microsoft just using this as a ploy to bring people back to the fold of newer versions of Internet Explorer? Maybe.

But there’s likely no conspiracy here. Just food for thought.

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