IE6 is a pain. It’s slow. It doesn’t behave well. Things that work in other browsers break in IE6. Hours and hours of web developer time is spent just making things work in IE6. Why do web developers spend so much time just to make IE6 work? Because a large percentage of users are still on IE6.
There have been numerous suggestions on what developers can do to make end-users upgrade to newer versions of IE. The best way however seems to be what Microsoft has initiated.
A notification will be sent through Automatic Update about IE8. On Windows XP and Server 2003, the update will be High-Priority. On Windows Vista and Server 2008 it will be Important.
IE8 will not automatically install on machines. Users must opt-in to install IE8. Organizations that use Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) and Systems Management Server (SMS) will soon be able to deploy IE8 in the same manner as they would deploy any other update.
Hopefully this should get more folks off of IE6.
Related:
W3Schools Browser Statistics and Trends