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IE8 due "later this year"
Author: Gareth HalfacreePublished: 25th July 2008
Developers of Internet Explorer 'optimised' websites don't have long to prepare for the launch of IE8.
Reporting on Microsoft's Financial Analyst Meeting yesterday, BetaNews quotes the head of the Windows and online services division of the company Bill Veghte as confirming that IE 8 will ship before year end, as well as news that the next version of the Windows OS, Windows 7, is “progressing well.”
With the first beta having been received well by techies the world over since its launch in March, people have been looking forward to the full release of the popular in-built web browser for Windows. While there's still a way to go, with second beta due some time next month, it's good to see that the upgrade is still on track for a release before 2009. While Veghte hasn't ruled out a third round of beta testing, at least it won't drag on and on.
Many developers are looking forward to the new browser thanks to a 'strict compliance' mode, which forces Internet Explorer to ignore all the half-standards Microsoft has created throughout the years and render websites in the same way as more traditionally standards compliant browsers like Opera do. While this is likely to cause a bit of heartache for those web developers who have come to rely on Internet Explorer-specific coding to make their site the prettiest around – although an 'Internet Explorer 7' mode will be available for these cases – it spells better interoperability for the web as a whole, and personally is something I'll be applauding Microsoft for come the Release To Manufacturing.
Does anyone here use the first beta as a day-to-day web browser, or is Microsoft going to have to pull something special out of the hat between now and launch to tempt you away from those third-party browsers? Share your thoughts over in the forums.
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Comments (20)Stats: 0.040 seconds
gotta admit this is my main gripe with IE7 too. sluggish. also it's skin (i know it's probably changeable) is too distracting and clunky and chunky. IE8 might be better and i'm happy they're aiming for better interoperability.
BTW, does anyone know how to have a drop down "back" menu in FF3? i swear FF2 used to have it, but it went with FF3...
totally agree... after a fresh install of my OS, i really could tell the speed difference between IE7 & FF3 (C2D@2.8GHz, 2GB-RAM)
The plugins and speed do it for me.
The back menu is still there, like you said its right of the forward button, or right click on the back button and it will show the list.
Death to IE!!! Long live FF!
http://www.cpemma.co.uk/bit/travelnet.jpg
Andy
but in the office on my Dell P4 machine, if i open a couple tabs on IE7 and leave it overnight, it'll eat half of my 1Gb memory EASY.
thats why i use FF3 or Opera in the office.
Thing is though, IE8 might end up compliant, but it is kind of irrelevant when you consider that most large corporations are still running IE6, and that is even worse to code for than IE7. So until all the corporates catch up, you still have to break your site right, left and centre.
Microsoft need to pull out some serious atonement to compensate for the utter **** they have produced up to now as far as browsing is concerned.
I totally agree, FireFox is by far a batter browser than any version of Internet Explorer, the Mozilla team are just more dedicated and driven to make it better.
Indeed. I'm contracting at a large investment bank and we're stuck with IE6. Their problem is that there are a frigtening number of internal web apps that need to be retested with any change to the browser platform. Chances are they'll wait until they roll out a big desktop update - XP SP3 or Vista and Office 2007. No sign of any of that at the moment.
I don't know if anyone has said this yet, but right click. Right click on the back button brings up a nice menu. ;)