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COMMENTS

Internet Explorer 8 Download (IE8 Beta 1)


So far all that we’ve known about Internet Explorer 8 was that they finally decided to push for web standards, and for that I’m extremely grateful. Microsoft has, however, posted an IE 8 Readiness Toolkit likely in preparation for MIX08 which starts today and runs until March 7th. In the toolkit they have download links (which we’ve posted at the end of this article) as well as a feature guide.

UPDATE: The downloads are now available.

We’ve taken the liberty of outlining all of the features below, but you won’t be able to get your hands on the browser quite yet. While the links to the IE8 Beta 1 downloads are available they have yet to be activated… you’ll get an error page if you try to download it at this time. Be patient though because I would expect them to be available shortly.

Okay, lets move on to the good stuff…

–Internet Explorer 8 Features–

As part of the readiness toolkit Microsoft has assembled a new features page which outlines what appears to be the big new things in Internet Explorer 8. I have to admit that some of them are actually really nice additions.

  • Activities – Activities typically involve two types of scenarios: “look up” information within a webpage or “send” web content to a web application. For example, a user is interested in a restaurant and wants to see the location of it. This is the form of a “look up” Activity where the user selects the address and views an in-place view of the map using his favorite map service. [Learn how to develop Activities]
    ie8 activities
  • WebSlices – WebSlices is a new feature for websites to connect to their users by subscribing to content directly within a webpage. WebSlices behave just like feeds where clients can subscribe to get updates and notify the user of changes. These sound a lot like Firefox’s Microsummaries, except IE’s are way better in my opinion. [Learn how to develop WebSlices]
    ie8 webslices
  • Favorites Bar – The Links bar has undergone a complete makeover for Internet Explorer 8. It has been renamed the Favorites bar to enable users to associate this bar as a place to put and easily access all their favorite web content such as links, feeds, WebSlices and even Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents.
    ie8 favorites bar
  • Automatic Crash Recovery – Automatic Crash Recovery (ACR) is a feature of Windows Internet Explorer 8 that can help to prevent the loss of work and productivity in the unlikely event of the browser crashing or hanging. The ACR feature takes advantage of the Loosely-Coupled Internet Explorer feature to provide new crash recovery capabilities, such as tab recovery, which will minimize interruptions to users’ browsing sessions.
    ie8 recovered tabs
  • Improved Phishing Filter – The Safety Filter continues to block known Phishing sites and now blocks sites known to contain malicious software that could harm users’ computer or steal their information. Beyond this improved protection, the Safety Filter operates more quickly than ever before to ensure that users can browse both safely and quickly.
    ie8 safety filter

 

–Download Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 (IE8 Beta 1)–

Here are the links you need to download Internet Explorer 8:

[via ActiveWin]
Thanks a ton to Oliver for the tip!

Daily Downloads: Java, DVDFab, and More YouTube Being Gamed? March 5th, 2008 Written by Ryan
  1. MohanMarch 5, 2008 at 10:12 am

    Pretty cool features, I am surprised that there is a XP version, would you happen to know (asking out of curiosity) when Microsoft will make the last IE version for XP?

    Reply
  2. skh.pcolaMarch 5, 2008 at 1:08 pm

    Vista 32-bit version is active right now. I’ll give it a whirl. Thanks for the heads-up!

    Reply
  3. RichardMarch 5, 2008 at 1:22 pm

    Windows XP SP2 Version is live and am downloading now

    Reply
  4. GoogleAll-StarMarch 5, 2008 at 2:40 pm

    “Automatic Crash Recovery” only in windows.

    Mohan wrote:
    Pretty cool features, I am surprised that there is a XP version, would you happen to know (asking out of curiosity) when Microsoft will make the last IE version for XP?

    That’s because they know a lot of people refuse to switch to Vista, Microsoft needs to ditch all this back compatibility and start from scratch.

    Reply
  5. PieterAll-StarMarch 5, 2008 at 2:49 pm

    Here’s the thing with automatic crash recovery: what’s the point of saying that Internet Explorer can recover from crashes when it just SHOULDN’T CRASH AT ALL? Just a though. :)

    Reply
  6. skh.pcolaMarch 5, 2008 at 2:55 pm

    Well, that was certainly painful. After the 11+ meg download, it took another 10 minutes on my dual-core machine to get the thing installed, then another 5-6 minutes to reboot. It is because of BS like this that MS keeps losing customers. Wht can I upgrade Firefox and Opera without a lengthy “System Update,” but upgrading IE involves MS taking control of my machine for 15+ minutes? Really, it is a friggin’ browser. I can install Mathematica in less time. MS seems to be incapable of learning from their mistakes.

    On the other hand, the IE8 beta seems pretty snappy. The “Activities” thing seems useless at this time, but that may be because I’m used to right-click menus in Opera to do all of that stuff and more.

    Reply
  7. RyanAuthorMarch 5, 2008 at 2:56 pm
    Mohan wrote:
    Pretty cool features, I am surprised that there is a XP version, would you happen to know (asking out of curiosity) when Microsoft will make the last IE version for XP?

    I’m guessing this will probably be the last one since this won’t be released for another year, and then we’ll likely have to wait about another two years to see another version. I don’t think they’ll support XP for that long.

    Pieter wrote:
    Here’s the thing with automatic crash recovery: what’s the point of saying that Internet Explorer can recover from crashes when it just SHOULDN’T CRASH AT ALL? Just a though. :)

    But then again the other browsers have crash recovery mechanisms implemented. ;)

    Reply
  8. PieterAll-StarMarch 5, 2008 at 3:03 pm

    I have high expectations of WebSlices. I’m not sure if it will become popular though, webmaster will have a very important role in this making it or failing completely.

    Reply
  9. RyanAuthorMarch 5, 2008 at 3:07 pm
    Pieter wrote:
    I have high expectations of WebSlices. I’m not sure if it will become popular though, webmaster will have a very important role in this making it or failing completely.

    That’s true, but I think a lot of websites will see this as a great way to get users coming back. There example with the weather WebSlice is a good demonstration of how users get a snapshot of the information, but if they want more details (like a forecast) they would have to visit the site.

    Reply
  10. yeshuMarch 5, 2008 at 11:46 pm

    just downloaded and installed…working fine….but i’ll stick to firefox..

    Reply
  11. TranscontinentalMarch 6, 2008 at 3:43 am

    I’ve just switched from IE6 to IE7 two weeks ago (although Firefox remains my default browser) and all I can say is that, whilst I remember not one crash with IE6, I have encountered a few already with IE7… perhaps is crash in proportion of sophistication, or is it Microsoft’s skills which are on the breach? No crash ever with Firefox here, whatever version from 1.5 to 2.0.0.12…

    Reply
  12. AnonymousMarch 6, 2008 at 10:39 am

    Installed IE8 last night. The whole process – download and installation took about 10 mins (max). The browser is faster than IE 7 and so far all pages have rendered fine. Hopefully it will improve more as RTM approaches. Still prefer Firefox though.

    Reply
  13. lelandAll-StarMarch 6, 2008 at 2:06 pm

    Not bad at all considering this is beta code. I’ll just have to wait and see how it turns out in the final version. It won’t switch me from Firefox or Opera as my day to day browser, but it will make using IE much less annoying which can only be a good thing in the end.

    Reply
  14. RyanAuthorMarch 6, 2008 at 3:55 pm
    Transcontinental wrote:
    I’ve just switched from IE6 to IE7 two weeks ago (although Firefox remains my default browser) and all I can say is that, whilst I remember not one crash with IE6, I have encountered a few already with IE7… perhaps is crash in proportion of sophistication, or is it Microsoft’s skills which are on the breach? No crash ever with Firefox here, whatever version from 1.5 to 2.0.0.12…

    Wow, no crash with Firefox? That’s crazy!

    leland wrote:
    Not bad at all considering this is beta code. I’ll just have to wait and see how it turns out in the final version. It won’t switch me from Firefox or Opera as my day to day browser, but it will make using IE much less annoying which can only be a good thing in the end.

    From what I see it’s not going to get me to switch either, but the speed improvements I’ve found are quite noticeable. It’s definitely not such a drag anymore when I need to use IE for something.

    Reply
  15. TonjaNovember 16, 2009 at 12:00 am

    So far I have heard good things about IE8. It’s faster and helps with crashes. But does it still offer all the infornmation 7 has. Please explain what firefox is and why it works well with IE8

    Reply