Browsium offers firms a managed way to ditch IE6

Developer Browsium has released a new version of its browser plug-in technology aimed at helping organisations migrate from IE6, while still being able to access legacy applications written specifically for that version of Microsoft's browser.

Browsium Ion, available immediately, introduces a new approach to compatibility. It eliminates the need to use the IE6 engine completely, and instead allows organisations to tailor configuration settings in IE8 and IE9 that will apply only to specific URLs that need remediation.

The firm's first product, UniBrows, required customers to deploy the IE6 engine, which caused some licensing issues, but the new product does away with that completely.

Browsium chief executive Matt Heller told V3 that Ion gives administrators control over settings that will make IE8 or IE9 behave like IE6 as far as the application or web site is concerned.

"It's things like security permission levels, things that Microsoft locked down over time, which broke compatibility in many cases," he said.

Browsium Ion thus does not modify the server side application code at all, but merely creates an environment inside a modern browser tab that enables the application to function as if it were being accessed by IE6.

"We've put a dial in everywhere that Microsoft put a switch, so you can adjust things on a per-app basis," Heller explained.

This includes on-the-fly corrections, such as string replacement to correct for lax syntax that web developers could get away with in IE6, but which is not tolerated by modern browsers.

Browsium Ion can also "sandbox" other plugins such as ActiveX controls and Java, enabling an older version of Java to run in one browser tab just for one specific URL, according to the firm.

Configuration settings are created using a Configuration Manager, and applied using Active Directory policies. No server-side components are necessary.

The firm said that in future, it intends to develop its technology to provide cross-browser compatibility between IE, Firefox and Chrome, giving users the ability to have "any browser in any browser".

Licensing for Browsium Ion includes a base fee of $5,000 (£3,187), plus a per-seat fee that depends upon specific customer requirements.

Browsium also offers a Jump Start programme, whereby engineers will visit a customer anywhere in the world and help them configure Browsium Ion for their first few applications.