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Supporting Industry Standards and Accessibility [Navigation]

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Please keep your Web browser up to date!

using this site

A lot of effort went into planning the 111Design.ca Website to ensure its content would be accessible to everyone. It just won't look very nice on a browser that's obsolete. There are, however some non-essential features available only to the browsers listed on this page:

The stylesheet switcher, collapseable menu (left or below the main content—depends on what browser you have), and links to sections within a page (anchors) rely on your browser recognizing id. The style-switcher and menu functions also require Javascript turned on: "Internet Options" (or "Preferences") » "Enable Javascript".

Other enhancements available only to Standards-compliant browsers include:

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reasons for upgrading

Modern Websites were built for modern browsers. You'll notice a big improvement in their appearance and functionality. Security holes that existed in previous versions have been fixed. Most have built in pop-up blocking. Some even support User Style Sheets making it possible for say, a person with low vision to apply large text, high contrast foreground/ background colors, or force links to always be underlined. This opens up a new world to those who might otherwise be unable to read the average Web page.

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getting started

In most cases, installing to the directory selected by the program will ensure that your Bookmarks and Preferences are saved. Some will import the IE Favorites list for you. Designers should keep their previous version(s) for testing.

If you have a slow modem or limited Internet access, order the browser on CD-ROM.

Be sure to note the name of the file you're saving and the location in your computer you're saving it to. When the download is finished, save your work, close any open programs, then double click the saved install file to run. Follow the directions that appear on your screen.

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browser downloads

A "+" sign after the number means "or higher". An "x" refers to the whole series of browsers. Example: Netscape 7.01, 7.1, 7.02 and 7.2 are considered Standards compliant. Beta test browsers should be upgraded when a new stable version becomes available.

List Updated on: 2008/12/08

Mozilla 1.x, Mozilla Firebird, Mozilla Firefox
Platforms: Windows (2000, XP, Windows Server 2003, Vista), Linux, Mac OS X. Firefox 3.0.4 is the latest stable build. If you're running Windows 98, ME or NT, download Firefox 2.
Camino 0.8.3+ Mozilla Mac browser formerly called "Chimera"
Latest build: Camino 1.6.5 (Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later).
Netscape 7.x + (all platforms)
Official support for all Netscape client products ended March 1st, 2008.
Opera 7.x +
All platforms. Opera 9.62 is the latest version.
Internet Explorer 5+ for MacIntosh
Internet Explorer 5.2.3 (Mac OS X) was the last release and is no longer available for download or supported by Microsoft.
Galeon 1.3 +
For the Linux GNOME Desktop.
Epiphany
For the Linux GNOME Desktop. This browser comes from the developers of Galeon.
Konqueror
For the Linux KDE Desktop.
Apple's Safari
Platforms: Mac OS X 10.2+., Windows XP, Windows Vista. Safari 3.2 is the latest version.

The above list may not include all browsers that meet the W3C Standards though I've done my best to locate as many as possible.

Whatever your operating system, there are a number of safe alternative browsers you can choose from. The "blue E" on the Windows desktop is not your only portal to the World Wide Web. Internet Explorer for Windows (Version 7 included) is notoriously vulnerable to viruses and spyware, and is still not standards-compliant. Microsoft is either incapable of or unwilling to fix its browser. Protect your computer and your privacy. Switch to something else.

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keeping old versions

In order to keep previous versions working, files and registry keys must not be overwritten: Install each new build to its own directory. You can select a different folder to extract the files to at the beginning of the install process. If the folder does not exist yet, type a unique name for it and follow the prompts. This will work for all browsers except Internet Explorer. In order to have multiple versions of IE installed on one OS (and running side by side) you will need to do this. It has worked on all the computers I've tried it on. Just follow the instructions *exactly*.

Use Registry cleaning software with caution! Such programs search for and delete what appear to be redundant Registry keys. Most are pretty aggressive. Once a Registry key has been deleted, the program it belonged to stops functioning. In this case, you would either have to reinstall your old browsers from scratch, edit the Registry manually or restore it to its previous state from a backup.

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