Aussie Facebook addicts and more IE6 woes

01/02/10 posted by Liz Niland

Believe it or not, there is some news in the world of online technology and web design that doesn’t involve the iPad. We’ve found some interesting Aussie Facebook statistics, and have fresh developments on the IE6 issue that will leave web designers and developers with a renewed hope for a less-bugged future.

While you may not think your Facebook or Twitter use is anything above the average, new research released by Nielsen shows that Australians are global leaders in time spent logged into social media websites. While the US lead the total number of users with a staggering 142.1 million unique visitors, Australia makes up its comparatively paltry 9.9 million unique visitors with an average of almost 7 hours a month spent updating statuses. While the Japanese clearly have more important things to do (logging an average of less than 3 hours monthly) they rank second to the US in unique visitor numbers (46.6 million). Australia is convincingly leading the charge on average time though - our nearest competitors - the US and UK - log just 6 hours and 9 minutes and 6 hours and 8 minutes, respectively. Another win for the land down under.

We’ve mentioned the IE6 issues that were largely responsible for the hacking of Google China HQ and it looks like Google are ready to plug the hole for good - by pulling support for the browser altogether. For Google Docs and Sites, only Windows Internet Explorer 7.0+, Mozilla Firefox 3.0+, Google Chrome 4.0+ and Safari 3.0+ will be supported. Long despised by web designers and web developers, IE6 has other issues that go beyond the big one of browser security. While most web designs aren’t optimised, let alone guaranteed to operate correctly in IE6, the browser is still available and is used by many people the world over. And if Google is already leaving the party, it looks like a good time for IE6 users to consider either switching or upgrading to greener pastures.

Even though I was attempting to avoid talk of the iThing, the Hitler meme that ran rampant during every scandal of last year - from iSnack 2.0 to the death of Michael Jackson - has debuted in 2010 with a top iPad commentary. Even if you’ve watched all the Hitler clips or are sick to death of iPad talk, you should still get a giggle out of this one. It's one of the best appropriations so far - and offers iPad criticism in a much more digestible fashion.