Internet Explorer 8 Now Available

IE 8 is available for download.

Per ZDNet, "Microsoft says that the new Internet Explorer 8 browser... is faster, more secure, and easier to use. It also adds a new private browsing feature."

Some of the more interesting features IE8 promises are compiled below.

For Users:

• Web slicing that lets you easily track a frequently-used site for updates.
• Compatibility view to help "adjust" the layouts designed for "older browsers" -- it disappears as an option if the page has been "updated for IE8". Of course, for me, this begs the question -- just how differently will IE8 "render" various CSS, that it will need this tool to compensate for hacks often used to accommodate previous versions of IE or maybe other browsers?
• Accelerators, to reduce the additional pages and typing you tend to use to perform standard functions on data, like mapping directions to an address, translating a foreign word, finding a product on eBay, or getting a definition. A nice subfeature here is that it's even updatable to use vendors other than Microsoft and its partners.

For Developers:

• CSS table layout support -- which should allow you to get table-style layouts without using HTML tables.
• Support for the :focus pseudo class
• Various tools for developers
  

Also, for developers, Microsoft has already published some tips on taking advantage of changes in IE8, as well as short-term and long-term approaches to making your pages more IE8-compliant.

I'm curious to see how this notably different version of Internet Explorer changes the way we surf and develop. The browser wars continue -- but instead of coming out with products that result in more variation in the rendering, and more problems for developers and users, the new competition seems to focus more on features to beat the other guy. And that looks promising for the rest of us.

On the Road,
Eric J. Reid