http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/...8/getitnow.mspx

I think they should focus on making IE7 better first.

The IE7 is really bad IMO, I always use Firefox and never plan on quitting it.

They got from 7 to 8 very quickly and didn't take the time to fill the gaps 7 has.


~ Macki

Microsoft should definitely focus on IE7 before they get ready to release 8. I would guess that the only reason Microsoft is doing this is because Mozilla is very close to releasing Firefox 3.0. I've downloaded the beta version of 3 and it's great.



I have to agree with you on the things about not filling the gaps 7 has. IE 7 isn't that much worse than Firefox but it is not as secure and I think it's because Microsoft just doesn't take Security as seriously as Mozilla does.

NOTE: I looked up a little more and I'm happy to see that Microsoft is actually going to attempt to follow the standards with this browser

IE 8 passed the Acid 2 test. So at least its more compatible.

IE8 can open Firefox bookmarks, did you now that?
That would be good
Now it would be easier for FireFox users to convert to IE8 too

The reason why Microsoft is releasing Internet Explorer 8 is because they originally wanted to release a new version every year.

I'm currently using it myself, but I'm waiting for another beta to release before I go back into IE8 mode as most websites crash the browser when in IE8 mode (First beta, what else do you expect? Remember FF 3 Beta 1? It was just as bad).

Look at it this way; Microsoft has finally entered into the browser wars, and looking at all the new browsers coming out, there really won't be any difference to using them as they (Common ones; FF, IE, Opera) will all have passed the same tests and be standards compliant.

Maybe IE 7 is so bad it's not worth updating (why they're starting on IE 8 so soon). FireFox has always been a step ahead of Internet Explorer, and Microsoft just keeps using their ideas. First it was popup blocker, then tabbed browsing, and next it's going to be spell check.

Firefox got tabbed browsing from Opera though. Anyways, I'm downloading right now. I'll post of what I think.

They are. They're filling a ton of gaps. That's why it's 8 and not 7, of course.

Is it really worth downloading?

'Cause I don't wanna download it if it's going to be bad.

The two best things about it are that it isn't nearly as slow as IE7 and that there aren't those huge, clunky tabs.

So it doesn't have tabs?

I'm definitely not downloading it.

It does have tabs, they just don't look as big as they used to.

Can someone provide a screenshot?

I'm downloading now.

Longest installation I've ever seen.

Image is in the spoiler. The tabs are about the size of Firefox's.

Rip off of firefox sans add ons.



You can get firefox to look exactly like that by downloading vista aero theme.

They really need to think of something better than just adding a bookmarks toolbar and outlining what website you're on.

There's a lot of stuff. Improved features, 100% web standards support, improved performance, enhanced features. It's a lot of new stuff.

I haven't seen any difference from firefox.

I'm actually uninstalling it now because it's screwing up all of my webpages (the resolution is way too low).


I'm gonna stick with firefox.

Their making internet explore 8 so fast because of the new firefox which will be released very soon And as for the faults of internet expolore 7, all of those will be fixed in internet explore8. But yes of course, there will still be faults of ie8, just as there will be some of fire fox

They just want to win the competition between them and Firefox, which is an uphill battle, with big rocks rolling down.

I don't think it'll be much better. It'll be too rushed to be any good .

Microsoft + Electronic Arts. Oh, the horror. /facepalm

"Microsoft Explorer 2008! Now with John Madden's commentary!"

Bleh. I'll always stay an Opera fanboy. Moreover, I don't think it'll be 'rushed' - it's still in Beta 1, which is the new buzzphrase for "this is an alpha version which we will make YOU test instead of us".

That test is very old. Acid 3 test is out, and so far no browser has completely passed it. Acid 2 test is like a check list nowadays. In fact, IE5 did better than IE7/8 in Acid 3 test.

Don't be so harsh on Microsoft releasing IE8 so early. Bare in mind Firefox 3 alpha was released quite soon after firefox 2. It was code named grand turismo, and just included a new engine. At least IE8 has a few new features, and IE7 has improved greatly over IE6. It does need much more to compare to firefox with, but such vast changes always need time, so at least give MS a chance and see what they are planning to release with IE8.

i use ie and firefox. and both worked normal when i tested it.

Actually, firefox scores 50/100 in the acid 3 test and IE8 only scores something like 15/100.

Opera recently scored 87/100 on the test, which is the highest so far.

The beta of IE8 is already better than stable IE7.
Microsoft are releasing this because of firefox

I'll always be a firefox fanboy I'm using Firefox 3 beta, and so far I like it. There are a few glitches though. Right now, all the signatures for me are alligned to the left, and the smily box is a little to the left of where it normally should be. There's no home button either

IE 7 is really really bad...

Use Firefox man and to hell with new Microsoft products

Safari nightly scores 93/100

ive tried firefox, and ive found that ie7 is much more compatitable with invisionfree and ipbfree forums

When I was active on the IPS forums, the bug reports relating to browser issues mostly were in relation to IE. Although, saying that, I don't have any issues with Internet Explorer, for what I want out of a web browser it works just as well as Firefox does, I just am used to Firefox and therefore stick with it.

Its something bad with IE 8...
Thers a wider bar on the top
Then i cant use Windows Live toolbar, cuz the windows will be too little
i always want a big view of a page

Exactly. Use Apple Safari. 2 times faster, and much better looking
http://www.apple.com/safari/download/

Safari isn't 2 times faster when I use it, in fact I find it a lot more clunky compared to others. As for it being much better looking, opinion. I hate how it looks.

For me Internet Explorer 8 is faster than Internet Explorer 7.
At least the speed is being upgraded.

I really don't know why people are saying IE7 is bad. It isn't. It's stable. It crashes a bit more than FF2, but it doesn't crash every single day or anything. I'm going to try IE8, but I doubt I'll keep it.

I've never had IE7 crash. I'll wait until the full release of IE8 before I try it.

i'm currently installing the I E8 i just wanna test or at least try it but since i love FF ill probably stick with that. but hey i tried I E and that was actually better then FF but I E 8 may not. if it is ill stick with it

Lolz, firefox 4 is out before they even release a final version of firefox 3.

Microsoft is making some nice updates with IE 8. I do notice some speed increase but not a ton. Also it will be really nice once most people have switched over to IE 8 and I won't have to keep coding around IE 7.

I don't like the wider bar at the top though.



Not really. It's an extreme alpha and the only reason it's out is because Mozilla is making a huge jump from Gecko 1.9 to Gecko 2.0 (Gecko is the layout engine used in all Mozilla products). Firefox 4 is mostly just a test platform for the people working on Gecko 2.0.

I tried IE8 and when I installed it and started it up, it crashed immediately due to an error. I tried to rollback to IE7 and it automatically shuts down too. Now I'm on IE6.