I've just downloaded and installed the beta 1 of Internet Explorer 8 into a virtual machine (no way am I ready to let that loose on my systems outside of a VM).
I've just downloaded and installed the beta 1 of Internet Explorer 8 into a virtual machine (no way am I ready to let that loose on my systems outside of a VM).
I've only been using it a few minutes so there's no much to say beyond a few initial thoughts:
Install was quick, easy and painless.
IE8 looks an awful lot like IE7, just with a few tweaks.
Speed-wise IE8 feels snappier than IE7 ... might be an illusion.
If features such as Web Slices are going to take off, Microsoft needs to get web developers on board ... fast.
The redesigned address bar might help curb phishing attacks by making the domain you're visiting easier to spot.
Thanks to all the Activities stuff, the right-click is awfully busy.
I'm seeing a lot of minor site breakages in IE8 (running in IE7 emulation mode unbreaks the sites).
IE8 recovers from unexpected shutdowns very well.
Contrary to some reports I've been reading, IE8 Beta 1 passes the ACID 2 test:
Here's a rough-and-ready image gallery to help you get a feel for the browser.
If you want more information, check out coverage over on Channel 10.