Microsoft has started to send out emails to select individuals indicating that Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 is right around the corner. The email is targeted to people whom they would like to receive feedback from before they open the doors to the general public, and no specific date for the IE8 Beta release has been given.
Activewin has posted the full email that was sent out to people, but this is the only part that really matters to me:
We are nearing the launch of Windows Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 and we will be making it available for the general public to download and test. IE8 Beta 1 is focused on the developer community, with the goal of gaining valuable feedback to improve Internet Explorer 8 during the development process.
We don’t really know what to expect from IE8 other than the fact that it will pass the Acid 2 test when running in the Super Standards Mode. The Beta version will also let users switch the user agent of the browser between IE8 and IE7 for compatibility reasons, and you won’t have to restart Internet Explorer each time you change it.
The real question is whether Microsoft can do enough in Internet Explorer 8 to prevent more users from flocking to other browsers. Personally if Internet Explorer 8 is well developed I would consider switching to it, but Microsoft would really have to impress me with features and performance. I know a lot of you have the minds set on the fact that you’ll never switch back to Internet Explorer, but I like to always keep an open mind.
The guy who runs the Internet Explorer team is going to walk through some of the features in Internet Explorer 8 at MIX08 this year, which is held on March 5th to March 7th. This seems like a good point for Microsoft to release IE8 Beta since all eyes will be on the conference, but we’ll keep you posted if an official release date emerges.
[via All About Microsoft]
The most important thing here is competition, not just on features but other areas like usability, looks, and speed.
There’s no reason why Firefox couldn’t be made more lightweight like Opera is, and IE couldn’t be made more flexible like Firefox. The only thing that will inspire these changes is competition.
Eh, I would never “switch” back to IE 7 or 8 or 9 unless Mozilla dropped the ball in a huge way and Firefox development ceased.
The reason is this: Mozilla is open-source and I heavily support open-source software. They’re a good company that makes a good web browser and they are dedicated to making the internet accessible via Firefox. I think the innovation coming out of Mozilla is far better than any innovation coming out of Microsoft.
So basically how I use my web browsers now is that I have to use IE for certain tasks like a few work related web sites as well as school related websites. However, overall Firefox gives me better performance. Therefore, I use Firefox as my default browser and then I just use IE for anything that requires it.
I tend to think I will not go back to IE for a day to day browser just because of how tied into the operating system it is. That makes it too big a target for malware authors to target hence the reason I don’t want to go back. Now that said I do still use it on occasion, just not for daily use. If they could find a way to safely run it without worry about the OS getting infected then I will take another look.
How about fix what you have first before releasing another one.
I still use IE for those rare occasions when I come across a site that doesn’t load right in Opera or Firefox.
@Ryan:
“I know a lot of you have the minds set on the fact that you’ll never switch back to Internet Explorer, but I like to always keep an open mind.”
I promised not to use Microsoft Internet Explorer after seeing the way Microsoft crushed Netscape and the arrogant posture of the company ever since. The fact of embedding IE inside Windows to insure its prominence was humiliating. When Firefox came along, I saw my chance to get even with Microsoft.
If Mozilla Firefox continues its policy of constant improvement and innovation, there’s no way I’m going to switch to IE no matter how good they might be in the future, which I sincerely doubt.
Goodby IE!
Regards,
Omar.-
P.S. Ryan & Ashley: Thank you very much for having my as an “Active All Star” commentator in your Web site. I feel honored to be there, as I consider CyberNet one of the best technology blogs on the Internet.
The only way to “fix” software is by releasing a new build (version). If you fix or enhance enough items then the “major” number will increase (for example version 6 to version 8).
For those of you who don’t understand software build number, it’s in the format “major.minor.build.revision”
That is a really good point, and competition in the browser arena is definitely needed. Heck, without competition we would still be stuck with IE 6 probably.
I’m a huge supporter of open source as well, but even more so I’m a supporter of good products. If by some miracle Microsoft makes IE 8 perform better than Firefox or Opera they will likely win me back. But I just don’t see Microsoft caring about optimizing the performance that much.
In Vista it is a lot less tied into the operating system than it was in XP. It doesn’t share things with Windows Explorer, for example, which is why FTP sites do not load up the same way they used to in IE6. As far as security goes I think Firefox is a lot better off, but as the market share continues to increase Firefox will also become a prime target for attacks. So the sense of security won’t last for too long I don’t think.
As much as I agree with you I also have to disagree. If Microsoft never released Internet Explorer would the web be what it is today? It would be a lot more difficult to download an alternative web browser if your computer didn’t come bundled with one. I really don’t think the Internet would be as prosperous as it is today if it wasn’t for IE. And believe me, it’s hard for me to say that because of how terrible the browser has been.
This is an excellent point. Linux and OS X come bundled with a browser and nobody seems to complain about them. It’s simply a matter of progress… it’s important to have some sort of html rendering component as part of the operating system… for help files, custom UI, email, desktop rss readers and dozens of other uses.
The reality is that Netscape 3/4 were blown out of the water by IE 5/6 in features alone. They simply stopping innovating… but everybody seems to forget that since Microsoft also used their monopoly to their advantage.
Things that the web are now built on like iframes, dhtml and ajax are all Microsoft innovations (or at least they included them first). Even Firefox just “emulates” the Microsoft xmlhttprequest object (although it does a much better job than IE does)
Yes, I’m a Firefox user.
Yes Ryan I know FF is a target for malware authors, especially on Windows, but with extensions like NoScript it’s much easier to stay safe from the malware that is targeted at FF.
Yes, I knew IE was better off in Vista, but it’s still not enough at this point to tempt me back. Even if IE gets faster by chance I doubt it will ever be as configurable and customizable as FF, and that is truly what keeps me using FF, because I can make it function that way I want, and not some pre-configured setup Microsoft feeds us. Yes, I know IEPro helps in this regard, but it ’s still no FF.
If I were to use IE’s core engine, then my browser of choice would be Maxthon 2 which is quite nice. I still prefer FF, but Maxthon is nice too and much more configurable than IE.
Yeah, that’s the thing that always annoys me the most. Other operating systems come bundled with browsers because they are a very essential part of the operating system, yet no one really cares.
I would use Maxthon as well, but the rendering performance is still rather poor in IE. For that reason I’m sticking with the Firefox and Opera combination which currently works really well for me.