Google Apps Giving Older Browsers the Boot

Google announced Wednesday that it will start phasing out Google Apps support for older browsers in favor of more modern options.

Starting August 1, Google Apps will only support the current and prior major release of Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari on a rolling basis.

Advanced Google Apps services, such as desktop notifications for Gmail and drag-and-drop file upload in Google Docs, require advanced browsers that support HTML5. "Older browsers just don't have the chops to provide you with the same high-quality experience," Google's vice president of engineering, Venkat Panchapakesan, said in a blog post.

As a result, come August 1, Google Apps will no longer provide support for Firefox 3.5, IE7, Safari 3, or previous versions of those browsers. At first, on these browsers, Google features like Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Talk, and Google Docs may not work properly, but eventually they may completely stop functioning.

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