Your website may not work with any new PC!

01 Sep 2002

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September 2, 2002 (England, UK)— Commercial Web sites make frequent use of Java and other similar technologies to give visitors access to a wide variety of functions online, such as stock tickers, shopping carts, and other enablers of e-commerce. However, because of a legal dispute between Microsoft and Sun Microsystems, some users will now encounter problems when trying to access your Web site.

The problem revolves around the presence of the Microsoft’s version of the Java Virtual Machine (VM) in Microsoft operating systems. In the past, Microsoft VM was included with Windows, which allowed users to visit a Web site with interactive, Java-based features. The VM is not included in Windows XP, Microsoft’s latest version of the operating system. If a user running XP attempts to download a Web page that contains a Java applet, they will see a message that says, “to display the page correctly, you need to download and install the following components: Java virtual machine”. Normally, the “install on demand” feature would let users download the VM in order to view the site. However, due to the legal dispute, Microsoft is no longer distributing the VM online. The result could be that a small percentage of individuals would not be able to view a particular Web page.

“Several situations exist whereby you may not realise there is a problem with your Web site, because a given page or function appears to work fine on your own computer,” said Philip Sheldon, Managing Director at B2W, a global provider of automated Web site testing solutions. “However, a small but significant percentage of your visitors may encounter a problem when they try to access the same URL. This is one of those situations, and this is why a comprehensive audit of your Web site has become an essential component of making sure your Web site is functioning properly for everybody.”

In this particular case, according to Sheldon, the majority of users would not encounter a problem, because they already have the Virtual Machine on their computer from a previous installation of Windows. Those running new computers that have only run XP, however, will encounter difficulties in accessing Java-enabled Web pages. “We’re not advocating that you eliminate all Java applets from your site,” added Sheldon. “But if there are some of your visitors that cannot access them, then that is definitely something you want to be aware of, so you can at least offer those few users an alternative of some sort.”

Business2www’s Sitemorse™ service delivers a comprehensive audit of even the most complex sites, automatically simulating every possible move a user can make on each and every page of your site. Many of a Web site’s flaws are relatively simple to address, but often difficult to spot. Sitemorse delivers a detailed report of every flaw and problem contained on the site.