In a surprising move Microsoft head honcho Steve Ballmer sent an email to one of the originators of the Norwegian IE6 campaign Teknisk Ukeblad voicing his support for the campaign.
Earlier this week director of Windows Consumer in Microsoft Norway Isabella Alveberg expressed her support for the campaign in an interview with the magazine but Ballmers support adds a whole new level of legitimacy and power to the campaign.
Although the campaign has seen massive support throughout Europe there has so far been little response from North American sites. With Ballmer “on board” so to speak the door is now wide open for more reluctant adopters to take the next step and add a warning to their own sites urging IE6 users to upgrade their browsers.
Ballmer’s email to Teknisk Ukeblad:
Microsoft recommends end users that are browsing the web with Internet Explorer 6 to upgrade today to benefit from numerous improvements including security features and usability enhancements.
Interoperability is key to enabling developers to continue to create great user experiences on the web. Our commitment to the technical community continues with our significant investment in Internet Explorer 8.
We continue to believe in the importance of supporting the end users and encourage the technical community to work with us in securing a good transition for the users that today are using IE6.
Hope that helps
Read the original article in Norwegian or via Google Translate.
