Duct Tape and Baling Wire–Cookie Prefixes

Update: Cookie Prefixes are supported by Chrome 49, Opera 36, and Firefox 50. Test page; no status from the Edge team.  A new cookie feature called SameSite Cookies has been shipped by Chrome, Firefox and Edge; it addresses slightly different threats. When I worked on Internet Explorer, we were severely constrained on development resources. WhileContinue reading “Duct Tape and Baling Wire–Cookie Prefixes”

Help–The Whole Web Thinks I’m Using IE7!!!

Every few weeks for the last six or so years, I see someone complain on Twitter or in forums that the entire Internet seems to think they’re running an old version of IE. For instance, an IE11 user on Windows 8.1 might see the following warning on Facebook: These warnings typically occur when the browserContinue reading “Help–The Whole Web Thinks I’m Using IE7!!!”

OpenSearch

History The new UI of Internet Explorer 7 included a dedicated search box adjacent to the address bar, like the then-new Firefox. As IE7 was built between 2004 and 2006, Microsoft didn’t have a very credible entry into the search engine market—Bing wouldn’t appear until 2009. The IE team made a wise decision in supportContinue reading “OpenSearch”

On Appreciation

Over on Twitter today, there’s a trending hashtag #HonoringWebFolk, started by the very honorable Molly E. Holzschlag. My feed is full of friends, colleagues, acquaintances, and folks I’ve yet to meet expressing their gratitude to “unsung leaders” for their contributions to the web. Of course, some of the folks being honored aren’t exactly unsung, butContinue reading “On Appreciation”