Internet Explorer 8 released

Yesterday, Microsoft released Internet Explorer 8 for Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows Server. I’ve been using Internet Explorer 8 RC for quite some time now, and here are the top 8 reasons why you should use Internet Explorer 8:

  1. You want a web that moves as fast as you do: Highlight an address, click the blue “Accelerator” button, and see all the things you can do instantly – like mapping, searching, and translating. Check out Accelerators from Digg, Facebook, eBay, and others.
  2. You want to know if it’s raining outside: Visit live.com, search for “Seattle Weather” (or any major city), hover over the search result, and click the green “Web Slice” button to add a weather Web Slice to your Favorites Bar. As of this morning there are over 1,200 Web Slices, Accelerators, and add-ons available worldwide in the IE8 add-on gallery.
  3. You like everyone to get along: And that includes wanting the web sites you visit to work well with your browser. IE8 is the only browser to include multiple rendering engines to address backwards compatibility— hit a site that doesn’t seem right, hit the Compatibility View button, and you’re on your way.
  4. You’re a visual learner: See pictures of what you’re looking for as you type in the Instant Search box – rich search results in action!
  5. You want to find it again, fast: To quickly find sites you’ve visited before, simply use the new Smart Address Bar which searches your history, favorites, and feeds.
  6. You like your privacy: Enjoy more control over your personal information and privacy on the Web with InPrivate.
  7. You want an edge against the bad guys (aka security): Internet Explorer 8 offers unparalleled protection against malware – it’s 10 times safer than Internet Explorer 7, 4 times safer than Google Chrome, 2.8 times safer than Safari, and 2.3 times safer than Firefox.
  8. You hate interruptions: If one tab crashes, you can re-launch it without affecting your browsing experience – your other tabs keep right on working.

For businesses and developers, there are several new and significant features:

  • There are over 1,200 group policy settings, making IE8 the most manageable and the most secure browser available
  • With Compatibility View, you can still view websites that were designed for earlier versions of the browser, which means that legacy LOB applications will still work with your new browser.
  • IE8 is standards compliant, making IE8 an ideal candidate for developers to invest in.
  • Accelerators and Web slices can be easily created with just a few lines of code.

Download Internet Explorer 8 today at microsoft.com/ie8.

Shijaz Abdulla is a Partner Technology Advisor at Microsoft, helping their top tier partners build on their Microsoft practice. He is also a trusted advisor to medium enterprise customers in Qatar. He is a blogger, tech enthusiast, and a Microsoft evangelist.

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