Microsoft IE8 now online
p2pnet news view | Products:- Today is IE8 day – the day Microsoft introduces its latest browser, slated to be available to Microsoftees as of noon Eastern Day Time (16:00hrs GMT).
Of course, Microsoft isn’t exactly famous for being on time with anything so no one will be surprised if the browser isn’t available as promised, for whatever reason. But here’s the link http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/download-ie.aspx
Nor will surfers, now used to a wide selection of alternatives, be waiting with their tongues hanging out.
“IE 8, like IE 7, promises more than its predecessor,” says The Register, going on »»»
The security focus has shifted from phishing to malware, with a constantly updated list of malware sites to protect the user. Funky features include Web Slices – the ability for users to bookmark just a part of a web page – and Accelerators to replace the need for cutting and pasting URLs into new tabs.
Yet, by Microsoft’s own tacit admission the outreach is not working.
Those who should be adopting IE are not listening to Microsoft’s outreach. Major organizations like the BBC, CNN and Facebook are not supporting IE 8, while anecdotal evidence suggests those sites that purportedly do work with IE 8 – sites such as Yahoo Mail – hit hidden problems in viewing of pages or when it comes to printing.
Developers, the litmus of early adoption, are using Firefox and are excited by Chrome and even Apple’s Safari thanks to the ever-sexy iPhone.
Not only but also, “there’ve been some major gaffs coupled with uncertainties around the browser that will have deterred developers from moving to IE 8,” says the story. These include problems Microsoft assumed were faults inherent in web sites, “but that turned out to be bugs in IE 8 that were fixed in the Release Candidate, released January,” it says, continuing:
“Another factor putting sites off will be the breadth of the competition. Also, the jury is out on features like Web Slices and Accelerators. One Microsoft partner who wished to remain anonymous told us IE 8 has too many surfaces compared to Firefox, making it harder to use and navigate.
“And, there will be uncertainty over Microsoft’s commitment to these new features. Say you build add-ons to optimize Web Slices, as eBay has, and then Microsoft kills them in a future release – that leaves your business and development plans hanging. No-one’s going to bet on that.”
Says Darren Waters on the BBC’s Dot Life, the relationship between IE and Windows, “is called anti-competitive by some (Opera and Google), and essential by others, well, one other (Microsoft)”.
He goes on »»»
According to Net Applications, a company that monitors the browser types users are running when they are online, the IE family fell to 67.4% of the market lat month from 74.9% a year earlier.
Mozilla’s Firefox jumped to 21.8% from 17.27%, and Apple’s Safari rose to 8% from 5.7%.
Add into that mix Opera and Chrome and a number of specialised user browsers, such as Flock, and the landscape looks quite healthy in terms of users’ choice.
But choice and choosing are not always the same thing: Opera and Google remain very unhappy that Microsoft is able to pipe new versions of IE to Windows users directly and have complained to the European Union.
Microsoft, meanwhile, “has admitted it’s harder building add-ons for IE than Firefox – and that’s according to an IE evangelist, who clearly didn’t understand what his job entailed,” says The Register, adding:
“So far, we’ve seen claims IE 8 is faster than rival browsers. Microsoft will today tout some research it paid NSS Labs to produce that claims IE 8 is more secure than Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera because of its list of malware sites.”
The Register – Microsoft promises ‘lessons learned’ on IE 8 download day, March 19, 2009
BBC – Microsoft hopes to turbo charge IE, March 19, 2009
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