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Neowin.net is reporting that Microsoft is now offering Beta 1 of Internet Explorer 8. It's being rolled out as part of Microsoft's MIX08 annual conference on the future of the Web.
If you just can't wait to try IE8, proceed directly to the IE8 download page, where you can find versions for:
I'm glad you asked. New feature number one is "activities," which enables you to right-click selected content on a web page and bring up a list of actions to take, such as:
In many cases, you can choose alternative activity providers. For example, you can use eBay or StumbleUpon for Find, Yahoo! Local Maps for Map, and so on.
IE8 replaces IE7's Links bar with the Favorites Bar for even faster access to your favorite websites. WebSlices offer dynamic content within a web page that you can click through for more information and subscribe to. Automatic Crash Recovery minimizes browser crashes and enables individual browser tabs to be closed and restarted. The Phishing Filter, one of IE7's best features, has now been transformed into the Safety Filter, which also blocks sites with known malware as well as phishing sites. Learn more about these features at the New Features page.
Previous versions of Internet Explorer have been notorious for ignoring W3C standards. However, by default, IE8 will work in a much more standards-compliant way than previous IE versions. Although Microsoft Watch's Joe Wilcox suspects that Microsoft's recent legal woes in Europe are as much to blame for Microsoft's decision as anything, it's a welcome sign for web designers tired of developing for both standards-based and IE browsers.
So, is it a no-brainer decision to give it a try? Not so fast. Read on.
Comments are closed on this article
Caboose
March 07, 2008 at 11:59am
After enabling Emulate IE7 and restarting IE8, the Windows Update site loads (just have to re-enable a Windows Update plugin). I've noticed that there are quite a few pages that cause IE to crash and re-load all the tabs. I hope it's just a bug that will get fixed by the time this is released, I really like the fact that everything gets re-loaded and you don't loose what page you were on. I wonder if Emulate IE7 will have less crashes. I'll let you know.
Oh, and IE8 only scores 17/100 on the acid3 test, and 14/100 in IE7 Emulation mode.
-= I don't want to be dead, I want to be alive! Or... a cowboy! =-
Marcus_Soperus
March 07, 2008 at 8:49pm
I'm glad Emulate IE7 worked. Until MS starts rewriting its own web services for standards-based browsing, that feature's going to be critical.
And, thanks for giving IE8 the 'Acid' test. It's already a bit more compatible than IE7, but it had better get a lot closer to 100% before it's released in final.
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It's amazing how illogical a business built on binary logic can be.
Phosphorous
March 06, 2008 at 7:24am
Looks like IE7 except a few bells and whistles. I can sh1t on a plate and garnish it with roses, but in the end it's still a plate of sh1t.
Caboose
March 05, 2008 at 11:43pm
I've just installed the IE8 Beta 1 and so far so good. However, when I attempt to visit the Windows Update site, I'm greeted with a message indicating that I must be using IE5 or later. Seems that Microsoft needs to fix that...
-= I don't want to be dead, I want to be alive! Or... a cowboy! =-
Marcus_Soperus
March 06, 2008 at 1:53pm
In the release notes for IE8 Beta 1, Microsoft says that you must use the Emulate IE7 button to get certain MS services, such as Hotmail, to work. Have you tried clicking the Emulate IE7 button, logging off of IE8, and restarting it before running Windows Update? Please give this a try and let us know what happens. Thanks for visiting MaximumPC.com
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It's amazing how illogical a business built on binary logic can be.
