Learndirect use Java for their courseware, but apparently it only works with new versions of IE. Given the target market for learndirect it seems a little naive to expect the average adult learning from home to have a new computer with IE5.5 or 6 installed and XP.
Its government funded, but like many government backed sites it only works in new labour's cosy microsoft world of windows XP and IE6.
Which brings me to the Department of work and pensions. EDS managed to screw up an XP rollout so badly that it killed 80% of their 100,000 computers so if you call them you get a phone message (after 4 days) saying they can't help because the computers are down. Idiots.
The site is probably not Disability Discrimination Act compliant, virtually no web sites are, and government sites are some of the worst offenders.
The DSS Works and Pension cock-up is quite fun, the mainframe systems are okay, it's only the entire Windows based clients systems that are off line...
As you say the UK government is far too budy-budy with Microsoft. I see that the Fins are another government formally recommending the use of any browser other than IE because of the unpatched critical defects in the product...
