This is unfortunate, because that 17% is missing out on a whole new world of interactivity, design aesthetics, functionality, speed, security, and quite frankly, I can’t understand why.

Internet Explorer 6 has been criticized by web standards experts, internet security firms, and designers since it’s launch in 2001.

In June 2004, the U.S. Government’s Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) urged readers to use ANY browser other than IE6, because of security flaws. Read the article here.

As of 2009, the security firm, Secunia, counted 142 vulnerabilities, of which 22 remained unfixed.  Some of these 22 are classified as moderately critical in security. Read the article here.

In 2005, PC World magazine rated IE6 as one of the 25 worst tech products OF ALL TIME.  This list is going back 30 years.  The list included some older products, but also included AOL and Windows Me, which turned out to be a complete dud.

On top of all the security flaws prevalent in IE6, there is much criticism from web designers and web standards experts regarding the functionality of IE6.

The problem is that IE6 does not support CSS2, unlike most browsers.  This means that developers must write hacks and other coding workarounds to ensure proper display.  This means a longer turnaround time and extra costs that are then passed on to the client.

Jeff Zeldman, author and leading web standards guru says

“IE6 is the new Netscape 4. The hacks needed to support IE6 are increasingly viewed as excess freight. Like Netscape 4 in 2000, IE6 is perceived to be holding back the web.”

IE6 does not support transparent PNG files, which are smooth transparent images, that allow for shading and depth on a web page.  Designers must include hacks that display less attractive transparent GIF files that leave a choppy, hard edged outline.  This option certainly lends itself to a less  fulfilling web experience.

Even social networking leader, Facebook, has decided their users using IE6 will receive an inferior user experience, by not allowing many features when using IE6.  They bluntly explain why, and encourage the user to upgrade their browser.

The thing that escapes me the most is the reasons for not upgrading your browser.  Aside from some large institutions and government bureaucracies, that require certain software that will only run on IE6, there isn’t much reason for a normal user to stay with such an antiquated piece of software.

Imagine you got a car in 2001 (internet explorer 6).  This car was comparable to other cars at the time.  It wasn’t the fanciest, it wasn’t the most secure, but there weren’t many other options, and it got the job done.

Now, imagine five years later, you were offered a brand new car. This car was fancier, quicker, safer, and it was FREE (internet explorer 7). You decided to turn it down.

After nearly ten years, you were offered a newer, faster, even more secure car, with side impact air bags and anti-lock brakes, all wheel drive, and stability control (Mozilla Firefox 3)… Completely free. But still, you turned this car down for your ten year old jalopy that was falling apart, had proven safety issues, and frankly was ugly as sin.

The logic escapes me.

As an IE6 user, you may not even know what you’re missing out on.  But, do yourself a favor, download a newer browser.  One of my personal favorites is Mozilla Firefox, an open source browser with lots of add-ons and extras. Google Chrome is a new kid on the block.  If neither of those entice you, you may want to try Microsoft’s replacement for IE6, IE7 here.  However, you shouldn’t get attached to IE7 too long, because version 8 was just released.

Trust us folks, you’ll be happy you did.

Realistically, how often should a company change their logo? Depending on your business and market, possibly every 10 or 20 years. If your company makes a few poor decisions and your business model makes a complete 180, may be sooner rather than later might be a wise decision. Another question to ask yourself is, “How well is my logo known?” We all know the dated IBM logo. Why haven’t they changed? Well, because we all know what it looks like.

In case you forgot what it looked like…

Jay Conrad Levinson, author of the “Guerrilla Marketing” books, says you should plan on getting twenty years out of your logo. Look for the extended warranty (just kidding). A drastic change can wipe out your brand?s equity that took years and lots of money to build. Many times you can make small updates to a logo without jeopardizing the entire brand. Notice the evolution of the Design the Planet logo below. The logo started out representing a start-up, female freelance designer working out of her home. The first update shows a young company of a few employees making strides in the market and venturing outside of the home. The newest logo captures a company evolving into a larger corporate climate with a more refined business model and clear visions from the past and of the future.

With each update, Design the Planet keeps the brand intact and evolves the identity to match the current and near future of the company. Also, being a design and brand marketing company, Design the Planet should constantly strive to capture the mind share of its target market while maintaining a strong brand that “speaks” to that market.

A few notes to think about when considering an update or redesign of your company’s logo:

• Does the current identity match the business model? Your company’s products/services? The future of the company?
• What should the identity say about the company?
• Is the identity trendy or dated? What does the trend say about the company? Does this trend work?
• Is the logo a cliché? Are you a lawyer with the cliché scales or an IT professional with clipart of a computer on your business card? How does the company differentiate from others in the field and/or market? (Note: Conventional symbols are okay and can be tastefully added or freshened up without hitting your clients over the head with the symbol.)

Let’s look at an international brand that recently updated their logo. Earlier this year, Xerox released their new corporate identity. Xerox had not made a change in their identity since 1961, when they dropped the name “Habloid” from the logo. After nearly 50 years of usage, Xerox updated their well-recognized brand for what Richard Wergan, vice president of advertising, calls “a brand identity that reflects the Xerox of today.”

After years of market research, internal strategizing and client surveys, the new logo retains some of the elements of the original logo. The research showed that consumers associate the color red with Xerox and for their overseas markets, the red color represents good luck, prosperity and good will. (Something else to consider when thinking about redeveloping your company’s identity: what do other markets that you serve think about your identity? When your company started, did you think your market would include Japan or Germany or if you are only stateside, Boston and Denver?)

Xerox stated why they made the change, “We are a very different company today than we were when our current brand architecture was developed,” says Richard Wergan, director of worldwide brand at Xerox. “The new logo is meant to disrupt the mental model of Xerox as just a copier company.”

Like all updates, they are across the board whether you are an international company like Xerox or a slightly smaller company like Design the Planet. The new corporate logo is your face to your clients, vendors, competitors, and potential clients. The corporate makeover needs to extend to each facet of your company, including business cards, packaging, signage, vehicles, website, phonebook listing, down to your company’s invoices. It takes time to update everything and can take a lot of money. When updating your brand, make a list of what needs to be updated and a timeline with the highest priority items changing first (suggestion ? website & business card first). The last thing you want is to have a hodgepodge of logos from various updates. This array of identities gives the illusion that your company is disorganized and multiple brand identities in the public’s eye create competition with yourself.

Reason #1 – It was old. The day that I look down at my card and think “this looks old” is when I know an identity needs a makeover. Quite honestly, the brand update should have happened a few years ago, around the time Katrina hit. Going into Katrina I had already reached that conclusion, but post-Katrina, we didn’t have the time or manpower to dedicate to building our own new brand. There were other people who needed our help, so we chose to reprioritize at the time.

Reason number 2 – The font. The old Design the Planet font was adapted from a Handwriting font that I found stylish and new, yet old. After using the logo for around five years, what was once a novel font that differentiated us so well had become overused. I see it everywhere and with that, our logo loses impact and becomes common. Or, more common then I would like.

Reason number 3 – The market. As a company, our market has shifted over the past several years, not dramatically, but it has changed. The old logo was well suited for the company years ago, but now seems not to match our company focus and brand.

Reason number 4 – Our web site needed a facelift. Our old web site didn’t have all of the bells and whistles it needed to be an essential tool. Specifically?

A. It was initially programmed completely in Flash several years ago because people wanted to see our proficiencies in the program (and we have updated it almost religiously since it was created). However, since then, the ways of the web have changed!

B. We have been optimizing and web marketing for our clients for years, but our Flash site was lacking in the live content that is readable by search engines.

C. The Flash site was cumbersome to update, mostly because it was programmed so long ago that it wasn’t accessing a database of information to populate the images and content.

D. Our old site didn’t give us the opportunity to share additional information like what you are reading now, and some things are worth sharing!