Kogan.com has taken Internet Explorer bashing to a whole new level. This Australian online electronics store is making Internet Explorer 7 users pay an extra 6.8% tax! If that isn’t an impetus to upgrade or shift to a different web browser, what is?
Image Source: http://www.kogan.com/au/blog/new-internet-explorer-7-tax/
On the company blog, Rusland Kogan mentions that the “Internet Explorer 7 tax” will be levied on those who still cling to that archaic and much hated web browser. At check out, IE7 users are shown the warning pop-up and asked to upgrade or switch to a different browser. Based on the screenshots posted by the company, the tax will actually be implemented if they proceed. The pop-up lists the other four popular web browsers – Chrome, FireFox, Safari and Opera.
Why we hate Internet Explorer 7
The tax is charged to make the Internet a better place. It is necessary “due to the amount of time required to make web pages appear correctly in IE7.”
Well said! Claps and cheers all around. So all those who have “been in coma for the past 5 years”, it’s time to wake up and adopt a safer and better web browser. Get rid of the pain in the rear that is Internet Explorer 7.
Come to think of it, this “taxation” on IE7 usage is a great marketing gimmick. In addition to the hundreds of comments the blog post has received, I’m sure Kogan.com would have also got tons of inquisitive visitors out of which a few would have turned into actual buyers. I would love to see the sales graph of Kogan.com for this month.
I suppose other online stores like Neatorama.com or ThinkGeek.com would do well – at least generate a few laughs – if they implement this idea.
I LOVE IE. I have tweaked it so it is faster and has more options than the others… FF etc.