Product Testing

Microsoft have just published a "test" that is supposed to prove that IE 9 (Internet Explorer) is compatible with the upcoming HTML 5 standard.  This test is a response to a site launched a few weeks ago where everybody can test their own browser.  The result as published here is quite a surprise to anyone who has ever written a single line of HTML:

In other words, according to Microsoft, IE9 is in full compliance with HTML 5.

The problem is that Microsoft have deliberately picked the extremely few bits and pieces of the HTML standard that IE9 could understand.  As a respond freeciv.net performed their own test, deliberately picking stuff from the HTML 5 standard which IE9 could not understand, and the results were as follows:

Just as Microsoft's, this result is obviously doctored in that only tests that IE9 could not succeed were selected and it proves just how idiotic Microsoft's own test results are.

Fact is that the original test is the interesting one and that one shows:

• Firefox 3.6: 101 out of 160
• Google Chrome 4.1: 118 out of 160
• Safari 4.0.5: 115 out of 160
• Opera 10.53: 102 out of 160
• Internet Explorer 8: 19 out of 160
• Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview: 19 out of 160 

Microsoft's approach to testing is a bit like if a car manufacturer claimed their cars were safe "because they were able to stay below the speed limit". It is obvious to everybody that IE9 has got almost no support for HTML 5.  The scary part is that Microsoft spend resources - and lots of them - on cheating their customers, instead of actually spending a bit of it on standard compliance.