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.

Getting Your Hands on IE8 Beta 1

If you just can't wait to try IE8, proceed directly to the IE8 download page, where you can find versions for:

• 32-bit Vista/Windows Server 2008
• 64-bit (x64) Vista/Windows Server 2008
• 32-bit Windows XP SP2
• 32-bit Windows Server 2003
• 64bit (x64) Windows XP Professional/ Windows Server 2003

Fast Ways to More Information with Activities

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:

• - Add to Digg
• - Blog with Windows Live Spaces
• - Define with Dictionary.com
• - Lookup news with MSNBC
• - Map with Live Maps
• - Search with Live Search
• - Share on Facebook
• - Translate with Windows Live

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.

More Improvements

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.

Standards-Based Rendering, at Last!

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.

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vista, windows, Software, news, XP, IE7, IE6, Vista SP1, IE8

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