pesach
08-28-2008, 09:13 AM
I have been using this beta since yesterday and I find it to be an excellent browser so far. The install was a no brainer except I was using FF browser and the DL would not install. I then used IE 7 and the rest went extremely well.
I plan to use it until I learn all of its attributes.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/2008-08-27-internet-explorer-8_N.htm
Anonymous Web browsing, in which your cybertracks are concealed, may be the most attention-grabbing feature in the new Beta 2 release of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8.
Microsoft (MSFT) is aiming the browser at a wider consumer audience. But because of the potentially erratic behavior inherent in beta or test software, it will mostly appeal to tech enthusiasts who want to check out the latest features.
Many of those features — private browsing, improved search and better tabbed browsing (keeping multiple pages open at once in a single window) — are welcome. So are so-called accelerators to help you quickly view a map or check a price of some product you're reading about. Microsoft is also promising greater security, which seems to come up every time it upgrades its browser. And the latest IE can reopen tabs you've closed since launching the browser.
Some features are merely catch-up; Apple's Safari browser, for example, has had a version of private browsing for some time.
I encountered some sluggishness testing Internet Explorer 8 on Windows Vista and XP computers. Microsoft says its new browser is faster than before, but it didn't always feel that way.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Internet | Microsoft | Google | Apple | PCs | Internet Explorer | Windows Vista | Firefox | Mozilla | Safari | RealPlayer
IE8, unlike its predecessor, conforms to the latest Web code standards. But that meant I sometimes had to click a "compatibility view" button to display full Web pages designed for the IE7 layout.
Here's a closer exploration of key IE8 features:
Private browsing.
You're shopping online for a present for your spouse or significant other and don't want them to find out. Or maybe you don't want them to find out where you've been for other reasons (wink-wink).
With "InPrivate" browsing turned on, all traces of the sites you visit are removed from the Web history. No Web cookies (small text files that store information on your preferences), temporary Internet files (copies of Web pages you've viewed) or user names and passwords are left behind after you close a session. Internet searches are also kept mum. You can prevent websites from sharing details about your visit with other sites.
The privacy feature is easily turned on when you click to open any new tab. Lest you fret about your kids, Microsoft says the feature won't override any parental controls set up in Vista.
Address bar.
When you type something in Mozilla's "Smart Location" (or "awesome") bar, the browser serves up a drop-down list of possible Web destinations based on sites you've already bookmarked or tagged. Similarly, when you start typing a URL into the new Internet Explorer, a drop-down list of potential matches appears, based on places you've already gone. In IE7 you'd only get a match if the characters you typed came at the beginning of the URL (just after "www"). That's no longer so.
But IE8 doesn't go as far as Firefox in making intelligent guesses about where you want to go. Type "WhiteSox" in Firefox, and you're transported to the ballclub's official website. Typing WhiteSox in IE8 instead brought up a Google page suggesting www.whitesox.com as a possible destination.
Security and stability.
IE7 included an anti-phishing filter to steer you away from bogus websites masquerading as real ones. IE8 goes further by helping you also avoid sites that distribute malicious software.
And it combats an insidious security vulnerability known as "cross-site scripting" or XSS, which Microsoft says might steal your data, deface a Web page or launch other types of attacks.
IE now posts clearer warnings when you come upon a suspect site; a can't-miss-it red border is accompanied by the words "Unsafe Website." You can report sites you think are up to no good.
The new browser is also supposed to be more stable. Microsoft isn't saying it'll never crash. But there's a decent chance a crash will just bring down the tab with the misbehaving page, without causing the browser to shut down entirely.
A handy new tool makes it easy to manage (and if need be disable) the mess of add-on software toolbars and plug-ins you may have installed as shortcuts to various tasks.
It seems AOL and AIM instant-messaging toolbars and a RealPlayer download plug-in were slowing down the browser on one of my PCs. Each toolbar gets a separate "close" button.
I'm for anything to make browsing safer, more productive, even secretive. Microsoft appears to be on the right track. Even if at times Internet Explorer 8 still feels like a work in progress.
I plan to use it until I learn all of its attributes.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/2008-08-27-internet-explorer-8_N.htm
Anonymous Web browsing, in which your cybertracks are concealed, may be the most attention-grabbing feature in the new Beta 2 release of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8.
Microsoft (MSFT) is aiming the browser at a wider consumer audience. But because of the potentially erratic behavior inherent in beta or test software, it will mostly appeal to tech enthusiasts who want to check out the latest features.
Many of those features — private browsing, improved search and better tabbed browsing (keeping multiple pages open at once in a single window) — are welcome. So are so-called accelerators to help you quickly view a map or check a price of some product you're reading about. Microsoft is also promising greater security, which seems to come up every time it upgrades its browser. And the latest IE can reopen tabs you've closed since launching the browser.
Some features are merely catch-up; Apple's Safari browser, for example, has had a version of private browsing for some time.
I encountered some sluggishness testing Internet Explorer 8 on Windows Vista and XP computers. Microsoft says its new browser is faster than before, but it didn't always feel that way.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Internet | Microsoft | Google | Apple | PCs | Internet Explorer | Windows Vista | Firefox | Mozilla | Safari | RealPlayer
IE8, unlike its predecessor, conforms to the latest Web code standards. But that meant I sometimes had to click a "compatibility view" button to display full Web pages designed for the IE7 layout.
Here's a closer exploration of key IE8 features:
Private browsing.
You're shopping online for a present for your spouse or significant other and don't want them to find out. Or maybe you don't want them to find out where you've been for other reasons (wink-wink).
With "InPrivate" browsing turned on, all traces of the sites you visit are removed from the Web history. No Web cookies (small text files that store information on your preferences), temporary Internet files (copies of Web pages you've viewed) or user names and passwords are left behind after you close a session. Internet searches are also kept mum. You can prevent websites from sharing details about your visit with other sites.
The privacy feature is easily turned on when you click to open any new tab. Lest you fret about your kids, Microsoft says the feature won't override any parental controls set up in Vista.
Address bar.
When you type something in Mozilla's "Smart Location" (or "awesome") bar, the browser serves up a drop-down list of possible Web destinations based on sites you've already bookmarked or tagged. Similarly, when you start typing a URL into the new Internet Explorer, a drop-down list of potential matches appears, based on places you've already gone. In IE7 you'd only get a match if the characters you typed came at the beginning of the URL (just after "www"). That's no longer so.
But IE8 doesn't go as far as Firefox in making intelligent guesses about where you want to go. Type "WhiteSox" in Firefox, and you're transported to the ballclub's official website. Typing WhiteSox in IE8 instead brought up a Google page suggesting www.whitesox.com as a possible destination.
Security and stability.
IE7 included an anti-phishing filter to steer you away from bogus websites masquerading as real ones. IE8 goes further by helping you also avoid sites that distribute malicious software.
And it combats an insidious security vulnerability known as "cross-site scripting" or XSS, which Microsoft says might steal your data, deface a Web page or launch other types of attacks.
IE now posts clearer warnings when you come upon a suspect site; a can't-miss-it red border is accompanied by the words "Unsafe Website." You can report sites you think are up to no good.
The new browser is also supposed to be more stable. Microsoft isn't saying it'll never crash. But there's a decent chance a crash will just bring down the tab with the misbehaving page, without causing the browser to shut down entirely.
A handy new tool makes it easy to manage (and if need be disable) the mess of add-on software toolbars and plug-ins you may have installed as shortcuts to various tasks.
It seems AOL and AIM instant-messaging toolbars and a RealPlayer download plug-in were slowing down the browser on one of my PCs. Each toolbar gets a separate "close" button.
I'm for anything to make browsing safer, more productive, even secretive. Microsoft appears to be on the right track. Even if at times Internet Explorer 8 still feels like a work in progress.