Firefox Browser may not work with Member Web Site

[ParrotBill]

Just a heads up... I could not log into the DVC Member web site today with Firefox and called... was told that they made web site changes and that only Internet Explorer is supported now.

 

[BCV23]

Hmm, I've checked my reservations several times today using Firefox.

 

[ransom]

Given that Internet Explorer isn't available on Mac (or Linux, or Solaris, or any other platform under the sun), it would be pretty foolhardy of them to restrict themselves to only supporting that one browser. (Not that they wouldn't do that, mind you -- too many sites do just that -- but it would certainly increase the number of people calling MS.)

If they ever do that, I'll make sure to call MS every day to ask them how many points are in my account, just so they get the message.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Just a heads up... I could not log into the DVC Member web site today with Firefox and called... was told that they made web site changes and that only Internet Explorer is supported now.

Designing a website to work with only one browser is stupid!

Any properly designed website that complies with standards will work with any browser under any operating system.

Putting out non-compliant HTML and scripts is an invitation for disaster because the next version on Microsoft Internet Explorer may not support the non-compliant code either.

Also, Microsoft Internet Explorer is no longer available for Macintosh. (And the old Mac version of IE that's still floating around is awful; it can't even render the MSN home page!) That means that Mac users -- around 10% of the home market -- officially can't get to the DVC website.

Based on my past experience, I no longer even try to use the DVC Member site with Safari for Mac OS X. However, the functions that I use seem to work with FireFox for Mac OS X.

This is not just a Windows vs. Mac issue. There are plenty of Windows users who prefer FireFox for good reasons.

Advice to DVC:

1. Write standards-compliant code.
2. Test the site with Internet Explorer, FireFox, Safari, Netscape, Opera, and Camino.
3. Buy a Mac, and test the site on the Mac.
4. Watch complaints go down; watch usage go up; and watch costs come down as more members use the site instead of calling Member Services.

And keep in mind that the biggest Disney shareholder is Steve Jobs, not Bill Gates.

 

[jekjones1558]

I'm on a MacBook 10.4.10 and Firefox, and i just logged in, checked my points, vacations, etc. and all seems to be okay--at least for now.

 

[DVCJones]

I'm on an eMac and using Firefox. I just tried it and it worked fine,Hmmmmmm?

 

[CarolMN]

I use Firefox.

Just logged in and everything worked just fine.

Whoever told you that only IE was supported was mistaken (or just wanted to get rid of you).

 

[2infinityandbeyond]

For some yet to be determined reason, I can access the site only when using Firefox. IE doesn't work.

 

[disneynutt1225]

I didn't have a problem logging in and viewing the Member Website with Firefox. In fact, I downloaded Firefox the other day because I was having a problem making a reservation (on disneyworld.com) using Safari on my Mac and IE on my PC. Not a problem at all with Firefox.

 

[surfer_ed]

I use FireFox at home and IE at work. have the same issues all the time. Site is down, graphics go all weird etc.

I get irritated when the site is down and I call MS only to have 3 or 4 on hold messages ask me if I have been to the site.

 

[jco_direwolf]

Safari 3.0.3 seems to work okay with the site. Since Steve is now a major Disney shareholder I would expect to see Mac stuff work much better on all of the Disney/ABC/ESPN sites.

johno

 

[littlestar]

We use Firefox on our home computer. It works great on the DVC site.

I would imagine that since Steve Jobs/Pixar is a major player with Disney that there would be no problems for Mac users.

We have a friend that's a computer programmer that just bought his first Mac and he LOVES it. My husband is a graphic designer/marketing department and he uses Mac and absolutely loves Mac, too.

 

[mel&me]

I only use firefox have never had any trouble, outside of site maintenance.

 

[WolfpackFan]

I've never had any problems with it working with Firefox BUT sometimes some features do seem to work better with IE for some reason.

 

[Crissup]

Whoever told you that only IE was supported was mistaken

Not necessarily. Something working and something being supported are two different things. In the IT world, there are many, many things that work perfectly fine, but are not "supported" by the manufacturer. For instance, I administer a two factor authentication system where I work. I'd like to run that authentication server on a virtual server. The manufacturer's systems engineer told me they know it works, but it's not supported. So, if I needed support, they wouldn't talk to me unless I moved it back to a hardware server.

 

[vonpluto]

Works fine for me on Safari, Firefox, Netscape, Camino and SeaMonkey.

 

[kdzgon]

Hmm, I've checked my reservations several times today using Firefox.

And I have been unable to access it wth FF for months now

 

[jenelope]

Same as most Firefox users. I check DVC member site regularly and have no problems using Firefox to browse it. I am currently unable to access my vacation details, but that's true with IE, too. That was actually the first time I've used IE to browse the member site since they changed it. I was surprised by how slow everything loaded. Guess I'm more dependent on my browser cache than I realized!

But to reiterate what Crissup wrote, "unsupported" doesn't necessarily mean "doesn't work." I work for a software company, and the number of features we have that are unsupported is kind of stunning. What "unsupported" really means is "We've given you fair warning that this exists, but is unsupported by our company. Therefore, if you use it despite this warning, it may not work, may in fact cause problems with other supported applications, and if you call our tech support for help, we are under no obligation to help you." When tech support helps you with unsupported applications, they're doing it because it's good customer relations, not because they have to.

 

[mwehttam]

Designing a website to work with only one browser is stupid!

Any properly designed website that complies with standards will work with any browser under any operating system.

Putting out non-compliant HTML and scripts is an invitation for disaster because the next version on Microsoft Internet Explorer may not support the non-compliant code either.

Also, Microsoft Internet Explorer is no longer available for Macintosh. (And the old Mac version of IE that's still floating around is awful; it can't even render the MSN home page!) That means that Mac users -- around 10% of the home market -- officially can't get to the DVC website.

Based on my past experience, I no longer even try to use the DVC Member site with Safari for Mac OS X. However, the functions that I use seem to work with FireFox for Mac OS X.

This is not just a Windows vs. Mac issue. There are plenty of Windows users who prefer FireFox for good reasons.

Advice to DVC:

1. Write standards-compliant code.
2. Test the site with Internet Explorer, FireFox, Safari, Netscape, Opera, and Camino.
3. Buy a Mac, and test the site on the Mac.
4. Watch complaints go down; watch usage go up; and watch costs come down as more members use the site instead of calling Member Services.

And keep in mind that the biggest Disney shareholder is Steve Jobs, not Bill Gates.

Given that IE still have close to 70% of the market, it is not suprising that DVC (and I know for a fact other companies do this too) only make sure that the site works IE. I for one do not want my dues going to support any browser besides IE and maybe FF. The others you mention make up less then 5% of the total market.

For the record, I use FF 99.9% of the time and it always works for the DVC site. Anyone with issues using FF (and IE for that matter) should clear out your cookies, cache, and history. This should help.

-Matt

 

[ransom]

Given that IE still have close to 70% of the market, it is not suprising that DVC (and I know for a fact other companies do this too) only make sure that the site works IE. I for one do not want my dues going to support any browser besides IE and maybe FF. The others you mention make up less then 5% of the total market.

Wouldn't it be a better to ask what the cost of supporting those users via phone and snail mail would be, then compare that to the cost of supporting their browsers?

For the record, I use FF 99.9% of the time and it always works for the DVC site. Anyone with issues using FF (and IE for that matter) should clear out your cookies, cache, and history. This should help.

That's good advice.