Microsoft is not the only company that want people to move away and quickly from any old web browser they may have knocking about their computer.
With the launch of the Google Maps JavaScript API v3 Google created a platform for creating fully interactive maps on a number of devices including smart mobile devices.
As the final specification for HTML 5 moves even closer Google are now looking at enhancing the API to including all of the new possibilities this new web standard holds. The introduction of these features means that many old browsers will no longer be officially supported. This includes Firefox 2, Internet Explorer 6 and Safari 3. But support for Android and Chrome on the Mac and Linux have been added.
This does not mean that maps can no longer be used in this unsupported browsers, the Google Maps JavaScript API v2 can still be used.
So user and developers alike should be upgrading browsers and APIs that are in use to take advantage of new features and supported platforms.