Internet Explorer 8 Released

Microsoft released Internet Explorer 8 on Thursday 3/19/09. IE8 is the latest version of Microsoft's browser. It brings more security and several more features to the Internet browsing experience. A new, smarter address bar allows searches to be done right from the address bar. At the same time, the address bar will present search suggestions that can enhance the Internet Search process.

A new function called Accelerators is included. This features allows you to highlight text in any website and perform web based functions using that information automatically. For instance, you could highlight a street address and instantly go to a mapping site which will present the directions to that address.

Another new feature is Web Slices. Web Slices are a way to stay up to date with a small piece of a website. For instance, if you wanted to keep an eye on the weather in your area, you can install the Web Slice from the weather site and it will install a little button in your IE Toolbar. Any time the weather info changes the little button will light up and you can take a look. You don't have to keep going to the website to check the weather. I think you're going to see a bunch of Web Slices get created.

Tabbed browsing has been available since IE7. IE8 adds a bunch of new features and refines the tabbed browsing experience quite a bit.

I have been using IE8 at home since the early betas. I like it a lot. However, there can be some compatibility issues so you need to be careful. Some websites may not display correctly. Fortunately, IE8 includes a "Compatibility Button" that has corrected any problems I have run in to.

As usual, I suggest our Clients hold of a little on installing IE8. At least install it on one or two machines to test your environment before rolling it out to everyone. At some point it will be offered as a critical update in Windows Updates, so it will get installed automatically if you are not careful. My experience with IE8 has been very good. Because of the new features and the increased security, I suggest Clients move to it as soon as they complete their in house testing. More info on IE8 and the download link can be found here.