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Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 Download & Features Revealed

Tom Warren   on 05 March 2008 - 10:56 · 198 comments & 160944 views

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Microsoft has put in place the preparations for Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 ready for Mix 08.
A full features page has been revealed which lists the following additions to Internet Explorer:
  • Activities
  • WebSlices
  • Favorites Bar
  • Automatic Crash Recovery
  • Improved Phishing Filter
Activities allow users to lookup/send information in a right-click contextual menu, such as retrieving an address map from Windows Live Maps, submitting a story to Digg, sharing a page on Facebook etc. WebSlices allows users to crop a specific area section of a site and bookmark it. Improvements have been made to the phishing filter which continues to block known Phishing sites and now blocks sites known to contain malicious software that could harm users’ computer or steal their information.

Perhaps one of the best new features is Automatic Crash Recovery which recovers your tabs if your browser crashes. It is widely expected that Microsoft will release the first beta of Internet Explorer 8 at this years Mix 08 which begins today.

Update: The download is now live and can be installed on Microsoft Windows Vista, XP, Server 2008/2003

View: Internet Explorer 8 New Features
Download: Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1

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(2 replies) #1 acedriver on 05 Mar 2008 - 11:08
the title should be "Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 Features Revealed"
#1.1 Neobond on 05 Mar 2008 - 11:13
What?
#1.2 Unto Darkness on 05 Mar 2008 - 15:21
He probably meant that the emphasis should be on the 8.
(2 replies) #2 +prick on 05 Mar 2008 - 11:23
buggar it has the link to download but its not active yet, was hoping to try this out. Oh well! Thanks for the heads up anyway
#2.1 PatrynXX on 05 Mar 2008 - 18:53
Link's active, just 1. doesn't work on Opera. and 2. takes a few reloads to get it. Gonna install it shortly. IE 7 always sucked in Vista. Would be nice to see something better.

Shoot, I'm guessing it doesn't want Vista SP 1 installed. Refuses to install says wrong service pack configuration. Figures.
#2.2 PGHammer on 05 Mar 2008 - 19:35
If you have a version of SP1 *other* than the final, it won't install (I have the RTM SP1 installed, and IE 8b1 installed just fine). That could well be the issue.
#3 XerXis on 05 Mar 2008 - 11:33
i wonder if "webslices" uses the rss/atom format or some format of their own. I hope it's just another way of presenting feeds
#4 gigapixels on 05 Mar 2008 - 11:35
I'm definitely running this as soon as it's available. Firefox is my main browser, so I can handle if there are any bugs with the beta. I'd like to see how the rendering and other things have improved.
#5 pippi123 on 05 Mar 2008 - 11:41
Whoa! Does this Webslice feature look great or what? I think I can close my Netvibes account when IE8 is out.
(3 replies) #6 iSimx on 05 Mar 2008 - 11:42
the automatic crash recovery feature sounds great. I've had IE 7 crash on me so many times this feature will be useful
#6.1 ivanz on 06 Mar 2008 - 00:15
Yeah it does, I wonder when Firefox will have such a feature
#6.2 ViperAFK on 06 Mar 2008 - 01:25
Firefox 3 does have it.
#6.3 Kreuger on 08 Mar 2008 - 14:40
(ViperAFK said @ #6.2)
Firefox 3 does have it.


If your Firefox 2 crashes, it askes if you want to restore. Close enough.
#7 mrmckeb on 05 Mar 2008 - 11:57
Me want to download.
#8 Hidr0 on 05 Mar 2008 - 11:58
teaser!... wheres the link to d/l?
(4 replies) #9 The_Decryptor on 05 Mar 2008 - 12:01
Nice, MS is finally getting behind some open initiatives.

From what I can see Activities and WebSlices are both based around Microformats (and pre-existing ones as well)

That's excellent, IE team needs some praise.

Edit: Holy crap, data: URI support, CSS print rules support, Selector API support, this is great.
#9.1 GP007 on 05 Mar 2008 - 13:22
Yeah, this really looks great. But one question I have, can you run IE8 and IE7 side by side? I wanna try out the beta but my main browser is IE7 and if IE8 is buggy and so on I don't wanna lose the stability I have with IE7.
#9.2 Jugalator on 05 Mar 2008 - 13:23
(The_Decryptor said @ #9)
Edit: Holy crap, data: URI support, CSS print rules support, Selector API support, this is great.

And about damn time too.
#9.3 The_Decryptor on 05 Mar 2008 - 13:53
(GP007 said @ #9.1)
Yeah, this really looks great. But one question I have, can you run IE8 and IE7 side by side? I wanna try out the beta but my main browser is IE7 and if IE8 is buggy and so on I don't wanna lose the stability I have with IE7.

Nope, The newer version overwrite the older version.
#9.4 Tikitiki on 05 Mar 2008 - 23:07
(The_Decryptor said @ #9.3)
(GP007 said @ #9.1)
Yeah, this really looks great. But one question I have, can you run IE8 and IE7 side by side? I wanna try out the beta but my main browser is IE7 and if IE8 is buggy and so on I don't wanna lose the stability I have with IE7.

Nope, The newer version overwrite the older version.


It has a feature that allows you to emulate IE7
(1 reply) #10 +Kushan on 05 Mar 2008 - 12:15
Not really getting excited about these new "features", but then again I think the best thing to ever happen to browsing was the addition of Tabs.
Still, I'm really glad to hear about the better standards compliance, long overdue but very welcome none the less and I'd be upgrading to IE8 based on that reason alone.
#10.1 PGHammer on 05 Mar 2008 - 16:11
Tabs were added with IE 7. However, the trainload of new features (all of which are not only based on existing standards from outside Microsoft, but built into the browser, instead of relying on plug-ins or add-ons) is decidedly Not Good News for Firefox 3. Also, the fact that ACR extends down to the tab level is absolutely choice. Now, if the performance is *at least* as good as that of Firefox 3, then the ball is back in Mozilla's court (with heaps of topspin).
#11 Avi on 05 Mar 2008 - 12:17
New features sound great... along w/ the new rendering engine (which supports web standards better)...
I think I'll use the Beta as well.
#12 Cryton on 05 Mar 2008 - 12:19
"Most notably, the Internet Explorer frame and its tabs are isolated into separate processes. In Internet Explorer 8, this isolation will allow improved performance and scalability, and richer ways to recover from failures (including crashes and hangs)."

Great stuff. IE8 sounds really exciting.
#13 Island Dog on 05 Mar 2008 - 12:22
Note: It's not available for download yet.

(2 replies) #14 TRC on 05 Mar 2008 - 12:22
I just hope they allow the interface to be customized, or at least offer a classic IE interface. I always hated the one in IE7.
#14.1 eilegz on 05 Mar 2008 - 15:01
agree, i hate the interface of ie7 cant move the buttons, everything its so misplaced like the stop/reload button.
#14.2 Viktor78 on 05 Mar 2008 - 18:59
see Quero Toolbar
Note: the current version is not yet IE8 compatible
#15 NegaC on 05 Mar 2008 - 12:25
I'm glad about the new placement of the favourites bar. Looks nice.
(5 replies) #16 pippi123 on 05 Mar 2008 - 12:34
After the FF2 debacle and the boring FF3, this will be the last nail in FFs coffin.
#16.1 El Sid on 05 Mar 2008 - 12:40
How can a web browser be boring? Yo do know that you're supposed to surf the internet with it right?
#16.2 TRC on 05 Mar 2008 - 12:42
What FF2 debacle? Why is FF3 boring? It's not even out yet; stop posting nonsense.
#16.3 +Dakkaroth on 05 Mar 2008 - 13:20
I agree with TRC. What the hell are you talking about?
#16.4 Skwerl on 05 Mar 2008 - 15:55
Crap, I loved both Final Fantasy 2 and 3.
#16.5 rpgfan on 05 Mar 2008 - 18:41
(Skwerl said @ #16.4)
Crap, I loved both Final Fantasy 2 and 3.

That was hilarious! :rofl:

Fx = Firefox
FF != Firefox (it is Firefox, not FireFo

If you want more info on the official abbreviation, check out the pelling_Firefox" target="_blank">Talkpelling Firefox entry in the MozillaZine Knowledge Base or FAQ #8 in the FAQs section of the Mozilla Firefox 1.0.6 Release Notes.
#17 morphen on 05 Mar 2008 - 12:46
gah, activate downloads already
(2 replies) #18 EduardValencia on 05 Mar 2008 - 13:11
What???!! i can't download the BETA,i can't Download!

#18.1 morphen on 05 Mar 2008 - 13:27
(EduardValencia said @ #1
What???!! i can't download the BETA,i can't Download!


huh?
#18.2 EduardValencia on 05 Mar 2008 - 13:43
means that links to download aren't available
#19 Jugalator on 05 Mar 2008 - 13:31
What's the thing with the improved "Favorites Bar"?
It has been renamed the Favorites bar to enable users to associate this bar as a place to put and easily access all their favorite web content such as links, feeds, WebSlices and even Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents.

I haven't used IE in a while, but couldn't you already use the Links Bar for everything but WebSlices (being a new feature) before? I think that at least in Firefox and Opera, RSS links just pops up a submenu with the latest feeds, and there's nothing stopping you from placing local files in there either (I just checked on IE 7 and it worked there too)?
#20 gate1975mlm on 05 Mar 2008 - 13:40
I hope IE8 will allow you to resize the address bar.
#21 spacer on 05 Mar 2008 - 13:51
The new features are nice I guess, but IE8 still looks like crap.
#22 Angel Blue01 on 05 Mar 2008 - 13:52
The only thing I really want is the ability to customize the browser
(2 replies) #23 Sevan on 05 Mar 2008 - 13:54
Nothing has changed at this stage, just some new features here and there. What would you expect for Beta 1.
#23.1 XerXis on 05 Mar 2008 - 13:58
(Sevan said @ #23)
Nothing has changed at this stage, just some new features here and there. What would you expect for Beta 1.


everything has changed, ie8 beta 1 passes the acid test
#23.2 +statm1 on 05 Mar 2008 - 17:12
(XerXis said @ #23.1)
(Sevan said @ #23)
Nothing has changed at this stage, just some new features here and there. What would you expect for Beta 1.


everything has changed, ie8 beta 1 passes the acid test


Hes talking about the UI, Sevan.. Most things in the UI doesnt change in a Beta 1.
(1 reply) #24 srwal on 05 Mar 2008 - 14:04
Any one have links?
#24.1 +TCLN Ryster on 05 Mar 2008 - 15:07
Did you not read the article? Specifically the download link?

It doesn't matter yet though, the download links on that page are not yet live.
#25 Admodieus on 05 Mar 2008 - 14:10
This sounds great. Can't wait to try it out.
#26 marius.fanu on 05 Mar 2008 - 14:17
will we get download links today? can't wait to give it a test drive
#27 adrianarrakis on 05 Mar 2008 - 14:19
Does anyone knows if on install it will replace ie7 or it will be a separate install ?
#28 marius.fanu on 05 Mar 2008 - 14:28
i think it will replace it beacause ie 7 replaced ie 6
(5 replies) #29 seebaran on 05 Mar 2008 - 14:53
So........no download manager, or a more space-efficient UI. More bells and whistles....... why why WHY? More fugly toolbars with more useless or redundant features.
#29.1 seta-san on 05 Mar 2008 - 14:58
this update vastly updates the standards compliance of the browser the W3C specs. This is a gigantic move in the right direction... BTW. a download manager, to me, is just more bells and whistles.
#29.2 +TCLN Ryster on 05 Mar 2008 - 15:07
(seta-san said @ #29.1)
this update vastly updates the standards compliance of the browser the W3C specs. This is a gigantic move in the right direction... BTW. a download manager, to me, is just more bells and whistles.

+1

If you want a download manager, go install IE8Pro when it's released.
#29.3 Skwerl on 05 Mar 2008 - 15:58
(seebaran said @ #29)
So........no download manager, or a more space-efficient UI. More bells and whistles....... why why WHY? More fugly toolbars with more useless or redundant features.


Why more bells and whistles? That's what producing a new version of a product is all about. Any other bright questions?
#29.4 seebaran on 05 Mar 2008 - 16:52
Of course IE8 is more standard compliant. Good, wonderful.

A download manager, however, is not a bell/whistle. It's a useful tool to view download history and pause progress. It's not a content-driven or service-driven item, and it aids in finding files quickly I need to open. It's a reasonable request. Look how long it took to add a Print Preview function!

As an instructional designer, I know pushing a product with more clutter is counter-productive to whatever it is you're trying to get done on the web. Keep what's important and useful on the front-end and leave the rest as optional add-ons.
#29.5 d3v on 05 Mar 2008 - 17:43
(seebaran said @ #29.4)
As an instructional designer, I know pushing a product with more clutter is counter-productive to whatever it is you're trying to get done on the web. Keep what's important and useful on the front-end and leave the rest as optional add-ons.


A download manager is not important and not that useful for a great number of people.
On top of that it is a prime candidate for a plugin since it runs in its own window and needs little interaction with the host application.
(3 replies) #30 Unto Darkness on 05 Mar 2008 - 15:17
Spell check would have been a nifty feature..

Maybe we can look forward to some add-ons for IE 8, just like Firefox [In the final release].
#30.1 Ayepecks on 05 Mar 2008 - 17:23
Agreed. Still no spell check MS? Come on now!
#30.2 GP007 on 05 Mar 2008 - 18:30
This is only beta 1 guys, they've got lots more to do still.
#30.3 eAi on 06 Mar 2008 - 03:38
Betas are meant to be 'feature complete'. Their purpose is to find bugs.
(3 replies) #31 +Maximum Error on 05 Mar 2008 - 15:32
Both links are dead now... looks like they have got tired of the constant refreshing and hidden it away!
#31.1 Unto Darkness on 05 Mar 2008 - 15:37
Huh? They're still working fine. Only the downloads aren't up.

COME ON MICROSOFT!
#31.2 GP007 on 05 Mar 2008 - 16:02
MIX 08 hasen't started yet from the looks of it, so we have to wait until that starts. That's when the download links should work. It would be around uhh 8am PST?
#31.3 Unto Darkness on 05 Mar 2008 - 16:05
(GP007 said @ #31.2)
MIX 08 hasen't started yet from the looks of it, so we have to wait until that starts. That's when the download links should work. It would be around uhh 8am PST?


No, 9:30 AM. Dang, 1 hour 25 min and counting....
(2 replies) #32 Magallanes on 05 Mar 2008 - 15:48
Every time that happens without a iexplorer8 beta 1 download link, a fanboy kill a kitten.

Please bill gates, think on kittens.


#32.1 Unto Darkness on 05 Mar 2008 - 15:52
Venting frustration on cute kitties is a bit too cruel don't you think?
#32.2 Magallanes on 05 Mar 2008 - 17:52
(Unto Darkness said @ #32.1)
Venting frustration on cute kitties is a bit too cruel don't you think?


Pretty much, anyways im still waiting to install it on my workstation and screw all the os. :-P

#33 tsupersonic on 05 Mar 2008 - 15:52
OH What a letdown, I wish the download link worked
(1 reply) #34 darkrats on 05 Mar 2008 - 16:18
Typical of MS marketing. Hey, let's post a dead link. That way, people will think we're actually doing something. Instead, they come away looking like a bunch of amateur dorks. They can't even be dependable in the small things. Look, if you don't have the product ready yet, then don't post a link. Wake up MS.
#34.1 Niels. on 05 Mar 2008 - 20:37
This is basically the same as Apple pulling their entire marketplace offline just to add a couple of updates. It's a marketing trick, create a buzz about something before it's actually there.
(3 replies) #35 vetneufuse on 05 Mar 2008 - 16:24
Wonder when the download manager will be in? they said it will definatly be in IE8 back in the IE7 beta!....... I've tried the 3rd party ones and they are too much for all I want... I just want something like firefox has...
#35.1 seebaran on 05 Mar 2008 - 16:55
See? I'm not the only one who wants one.
#35.2 The_Decryptor on 05 Mar 2008 - 17:13
The builds of IE in the old Longhorn leaks had a download manager, got scrapped somewhere along the line.
#35.3 Munkyman on 05 Mar 2008 - 17:19
Why though? It makes so much sence to have one. It is something that should have been implemented a LONG time ago when I was on dial up cursing the heavens everytime a 300mb download canceled half way through
#36 +Shadrack on 05 Mar 2008 - 16:48
I stay clear of Internet Explorer beta's. Learned my lesson back when IE6 was in beta. I don't need IE bugs brining down my whole windows install.
#37 Netrack on 05 Mar 2008 - 17:02
you need sp1 installed...when do we get SP1 for vista?
#38 ToastedJellyBowl on 05 Mar 2008 - 17:17
You don't need SP1. It works with both Windows Vista SP1, and standard Windows Vista.
#39 thexfile on 05 Mar 2008 - 17:38
Steve Ballmer needs needs a press conference to talk up IE8 and how Rogaine has changed his life.
(1 reply) #40 darkpuma on 05 Mar 2008 - 17:50
i love IE, but going to version 8 seems a little excessive for such a small changelog... dosn't look like any radical changes. Is there something big to come?

i'm not overly impressed so far.
#40.1 EduardValencia on 05 Mar 2008 - 17:53
Apart from the new features mentioned in here,IE 8 passes de Acid 2 Test

So as you see,almost everything is new in this broswer ,incuulding some changes to the UI
(2 replies) #41 chaicka on 05 Mar 2008 - 17:57
What a copycat...

Ain't some of those features actually originated from FireFox and its Extensions - eg. Adblock Plus,
#41.1 virtorio on 05 Mar 2008 - 20:52
So you'd rather they not include new features that have appeared in other products?

Then why not bitch about the fact Mozilla "copied" the address bar, navigation buttons, bookmark bar, customizable toolbar, search bar, tabbed bar and every other feature it's got from somewhere?
#41.2 Tikitiki on 05 Mar 2008 - 23:13
People these days. They just complain for the sake of complaining. I guess reading your posts before you post them is a thing of the past, no matter how stupid they are

p.s. I'm not talking about you virtorio
#42 xcopmanx on 05 Mar 2008 - 17:58
Is this definitely coming out today or is this just a teaser because of the MIX '08 conference?
#43 +majortom1981 on 05 Mar 2008 - 18:08
So far its not abig omg but its a gerat thing for web developers nbecause things will ook the same as in firefox and ie8 . HE is showing this off now between firefox beta 3 safari and ie 8
#44 XerXis on 05 Mar 2008 - 18:09
i must say, the mix ie8 demo impresses me! i only hope that toolbar can be made thinner
(1 reply) #45 gate1975mlm on 05 Mar 2008 - 18:10
I wish Microsoft would add thumbnail previews for tabs in IE8!
#45.1 Doli on 05 Mar 2008 - 18:14
You dont like the "Quick tabs" thumbnail view in IE7? I think its better than Opera's thumbnail view.
(1 reply) #46 Doli on 05 Mar 2008 - 18:11
nice debugger (looking at IE8 from Mix 08 live stream)
#46.1 XerXis on 05 Mar 2008 - 18:12
(Doli said @ #46)
nice debugger (looking at IE8 from Mix 08 live stream)
fantastic debugger! this is going to make life so much easier!
#47 oqwarrior on 05 Mar 2008 - 18:20
Looks like the download should be available as soon as the keynote is complete.
(1 reply) #48 Doli on 05 Mar 2008 - 18:20
available after keynote people.



Silverlight is shaping up to be something special now. I hope to see more of it soon and that now you can use it in Vista gadgets make it even better.
#48.1 HawkMan on 05 Mar 2008 - 23:06
hmm you could allways use it on gadgets, the XBL Friends list gadget has used it for a while now.

unless there's a 64 bit silverlight available now, since it didn't work on x64 because there was no Silverlight for x64
(1 reply) #49 morphen on 05 Mar 2008 - 18:49
Downloads now active!
#49.1 Alien Venom on 05 Mar 2008 - 18:55
(morphen said @ #49)
Downloads now active!


They are intermittently working. I guess it takes time to propagate across the M$ servers. Until it's fully up, keep trying and you will be taken to the appropriate download page.

Some more links:

IE8 for Windows XP (SP2): http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...;displaylang=en

IE8 for Windows Server 2003 (SP2):
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...;displaylang=en
#50 franzon on 05 Mar 2008 - 18:51
IE8 beta1 javascript performances:
#51 +Maximum Error on 05 Mar 2008 - 18:53
DOWNLOAD LIVE!!!!!
#52 Nas on 05 Mar 2008 - 18:53
IE8B1 for Vista was just uploaded/made available. The others are proliferating, I'm certain.
(1 reply) #53 PGHammer on 05 Mar 2008 - 18:54
As of noon PDT (1500 EDT), IE 8 beta 1's download links will be live. There's a video on Channel 10 that goes deeper in depth on IE 8 beta 1. (Yes, I'm gonna grab this puppy as soon as the download links go live). Not only does it support all the same standards as Firefox, it actually supports *more* standards (without extensions or add-ins) than Firefox.

On Silverlight: the mere fact that it's neither exclusive to IE *or* Windows should worry Adobe. The fact that it can replace both Flash and Shockwave (while being lighter on the client than either), should scare them.
#53.1 morphen on 05 Mar 2008 - 19:15
now if only people would get their eyes open for Adobe reader alternatives, like foxitreader

With all this talk of vista beeing bloated, now what is Adobe reader?
#54 The_Decryptor on 05 Mar 2008 - 18:56
Beta's out, installing it now.
#55 FreAK-47 on 05 Mar 2008 - 19:01
The 64-bit download doesn't work for Vista yet
#56 +Maximum Error on 05 Mar 2008 - 19:04
disapointed..... seems gmail doesnt accept the IE 8 tag and reverts back to the old version of gmail!
(2 replies) #57 morphen on 05 Mar 2008 - 19:13
hm, well, IE8 beta 1 does not pass ACID2 test, but what the heck
I'm a rat for MS betas
#57.1 Phil E. on 05 Mar 2008 - 19:16
Just loaded the acid2 test, and IE8 beta passes with flying colors.
#57.2 ApostolicFire on 05 Mar 2008 - 19:25
(Phil E. said @ #57.1)
Just loaded the acid2 test, and IE8 beta passes with flying colors.


Same here.
#58 EduardValencia on 05 Mar 2008 - 19:14
Wheres the VERSION IN SPANISH?????!!!!!!!!!!!

Godamnit!
#59 ana04 on 05 Mar 2008 - 19:17
Silverlight 2 seems to be pretty cool...

Hard rock cafe demo was neat..
#60 sweetsam on 05 Mar 2008 - 19:29
Form elements need work. Everything else looks fine so far.
#61 PGHammer on 05 Mar 2008 - 19:33
I'm running IE 8 beta 1 right now (typing this from said browser, actually), and I'm *not* in IE 7 emulation mode (simply because I want to compare the display of IE 8 to the earlier nightly of Firefox 3, which I also have installed). One quibble that I have (and it's apparently with the standards) is that any standards-compliant browser *consistently* left-justifies the comment box on this site (Firefox, Mozilla, Opera, and now IE 8 in normal mode). Is there a way (using the standards) to center the comment box (which is how earlier versions of IE display the comment bo?
(17 replies) #62 Alien Venom on 05 Mar 2008 - 19:35
IT DOES NOT PASS THE ACID TESTS WTF MICROSOFT
#62.1 GreyWolfSC on 05 Mar 2008 - 19:40
(Alien Venom said @ #62)
IT DOES NOT PASS THE ACID TESTS WTF MICROSOFT

Stop screaming, and you're obviously doing something wrong. Others have already tried it and said it does.
#62.2 +TCLN Ryster on 05 Mar 2008 - 19:45
Get a life mate, it passes it just fine. Maybe you turned on IE7 emulation or something.
For the record I'm using Vista x64 SP1.



Last edited by TCLN Ryster on 05 Mar 2008 - 20:32
#62.3 ana04 on 05 Mar 2008 - 19:45
Worked fine here..
#62.4 T.W. on 05 Mar 2008 - 19:50
Failed on me (Server 2003 SP2).
#62.5 +TCLN Ryster on 05 Mar 2008 - 19:54
If it fails for you, post evidence in the form of a screenshot as I have done.
#62.6 FISKER_Q on 05 Mar 2008 - 20:06
(TCLN Ryster said @ #62.5)
If it fails for you, post evidence in the form of a screenshot as I have done.


http://i29.tinypic.com/1zb9q8h.jpg

Windows XP x64 Edition, so perhaps it's a problem with the 64-bit versions for 2003 and XP?
#62.7 rev23dev on 05 Mar 2008 - 20:07
(FISKER_Q said @ #62.6)
(TCLN Ryster said @ #62.5)
If it fails for you, post evidence in the form of a screenshot as I have done.


http://i29.tinypic.com/1zb9q8h.jpg

Windows XP x64 Edition, so perhaps it's a problem with the 64-bit versions for 2003 and XP?


I get the same exact thing. On WinXP 32-bit. So I don't think it's a 64-bit issue
#62.8 Express on 05 Mar 2008 - 20:14
I am running 64-bit. It passes.
I think Mr. Venom is running in IE7 emulation mode.
#62.9 +majortom1981 on 05 Mar 2008 - 20:17
(Express said @ #62.
I am running 64-bit. It passes.
I think Mr. Venom is running in IE7 emulation mode.


I am not running in ie7 mode and it didnt pass for me. this is 32bit vista.
#62.10 FISKER_Q on 05 Mar 2008 - 20:18
Quite an odd issue if one half can pass the test while the other half can't.
#62.11 Emil Protalinski on 05 Mar 2008 - 20:37
(FISKER_Q said @ #62.10)
Quite an odd issue if one half can pass the test while the other half can't.

no, look at the URLs for both screenshots
#62.12 +TCLN Ryster on 05 Mar 2008 - 21:23
(Emil Protalinski said @ #62.11)
(FISKER_Q said @ #62.10)
Quite an odd issue if one half can pass the test while the other half can't.

no, look at the URLs for both screenshots

Yeah I noticed that. As far as I'm aware, the official test is the one on the webstandards.org website. Those that fail the test from the acidtests.org website should try running the official test at http://www.webstandards.org/act/acid2/test.html (which appears to be down at the time of posting this).
#62.13 FISKER_Q on 05 Mar 2008 - 21:42
I did see the URL, but why is it relevant?

Should render correctly, regardless of what domain it's hosted on.
#62.14 Express on 05 Mar 2008 - 23:07
(FISKER_Q said @ #62.13)
I did see the URL, but why is it relevant?

Should render correctly, regardless of what domain it's hosted on.


The two pages are different. The one which passes has the object data source set to http://www.webstandards.org/404/
The one which fails has data source set to http://www.damowmow.com/404/.
The cross-domain access is by default disabled for data sources for security reasons.

You can goto Internet Options->Security->Custom Level and set 'Access data sources across domains' and tests will pass on both URLs!!
#62.15 HawkMan on 05 Mar 2008 - 23:15
I loaded the webstandards test in IE8 beta, and I got the scroll thingy first, then after a second it turned correct.

in MAxthon it seems to still be using the old 7 engine though, not sure if that's ebcause it runs ie8 in IE7 mode, or if maxthon is somehow still using IE7
#62.16 T.W. on 06 Mar 2008 - 02:23
(Express said @ #62.14)
The two pages are different. The one which passes has the object data source set to http://www.webstandards.org/404/
The one which fails has data source set to http://www.damowmow.com/404/.
The cross-domain access is by default disabled for data sources for security reasons.

You can goto Internet Options->Security->Custom Level and set 'Access data sources across domains' and tests will pass on both URLs!!

Hey, thanks for the tip. It passes now.
#62.17 FISKER_Q on 06 Mar 2008 - 08:47
(Express said @ #62.14)
(FISKER_Q said @ #62.13)
I did see the URL, but why is it relevant?

Should render correctly, regardless of what domain it's hosted on.


The two pages are different. The one which passes has the object data source set to http://www.webstandards.org/404/
The one which fails has data source set to http://www.damowmow.com/404/.
The cross-domain access is by default disabled for data sources for security reasons.

You can goto Internet Options->Security->Custom Level and set 'Access data sources across domains' and tests will pass on both URLs!!


Ah ok, i tried the cached version of the acid2 test on webstandards.org, but that one just redirected me to acid2.acidtests.org, so that's why i thought it was odd.
(3 replies) #63 MulletRobZ on 05 Mar 2008 - 19:40
Damn, Internet Explorer sure turned into something far uglier than I could have imagined years ago! Way overcluttered for my tastes with those buttons disorganized and no menu bar. Guess it's a good thing I stick with Safari and Firefox!
#63.1 Nadeem97 on 05 Mar 2008 - 19:44
(MulletRobZ said @ #63)
Damn, Internet Explorer sure turned into something far uglier than I could have imagined years ago! Way overcluttered for my tastes with those buttons disorganized and no menu bar. Guess it's a good thing I stick with Safari and Firefox!


Why some of you wont realize that its still BETA 1 , meaning that the UI is to be changed.
#63.2 Doli on 05 Mar 2008 - 19:50
The menu bar is still there, hit 'alt' and it will pop up, you can also View-> toolbars-> menu to make it stay.
THe best thing to do is to right click areas and see what options pop up and you would have found the menu option.
#63.3 +Chrono951 on 05 Mar 2008 - 20:04
Wouldn't having the menu bars and what-not always showing make it more cluttered? I mean, I thought the meaning of clutter was having unnecessary things just laying around.
(2 replies) #64 g0dlike on 05 Mar 2008 - 19:45
Links are apparently working.

Last edited by creamhackered on 05 Mar 2008 - 20:32
#64.1 GreyWolfSC on 05 Mar 2008 - 19:48
(g0dlike said @ #64)
You can get IE8 here:
http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Inte...load-95339.html

Links are apparently working.


Those links are the same as the ones on the IE8 page posted with the news article.
#64.2 +TCLN Ryster on 05 Mar 2008 - 19:48
Why?

Just download it directly from Microsoft. I never trust these shady file download sites, especially when they leech the bandwidth of other sites just to get ad revenue for themselves.

Download it here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/...ess/Install.htm
#65 Titoist on 05 Mar 2008 - 19:50
Anyone wanna post a full screenshot of IE8 with as many of its features visible?
(7 replies) #66 sweetsam on 05 Mar 2008 - 19:51
IE8 beta1 passes acid2 test. It takes couple of seconds more than you would expect but it works. I mean there is a little bit of a pause while its rendering while you see an image which suggests it failed.
#66.1 Arch on 05 Mar 2008 - 20:13
It didn't quite pass for me, but it did very well. Only the eyes didn't render properly.
#66.2 rpgfan on 05 Mar 2008 - 20:22
(Arch said @ #66.1)
It didn't quite pass for me, but it did very well. Only the eyes didn't render properly.

Same here. I doubt that Microsoft's test machines have the same exact configurations that I have, so I don't really expect it to render perfectly, especially since it is a beta. I must say that it is much better than it was though!
#66.3 soumyasch on 05 Mar 2008 - 20:23
Fails for me here (Win XP SP2). Kept it open for full 5 minutes. And whats the score on Acid3? I get only 17. (No I did not turn on IE7 emulation mode).

http://pg55kw.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pUDk...C1XA/iAcid2.PNG

And it does something weird at Wikipedia. Looks like its painting text over and over again on top of the last painting, as we go down the page.

http://pg55kw.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pUDk...3rE0A/iWiki.PNG

And what the hell? They took the favicons away from address bar dropdown. I used them to quickly identify the site to go!!! Gmail works fine here, btw.

Edit: Not linking the images. Thats way to large.

Last edited by soumyasch on 05 Mar 2008 - 20:28
#66.4 +TCLN Ryster on 05 Mar 2008 - 21:25
Try running the official test at http://www.webstandards.org/act/acid2/test.html instead.
#66.5 Express on 05 Mar 2008 - 21:31
I don't see what is the point of any browser passing acid3 test.
Some of the things that Acid3 tests like CSS3 is not even a standard right now. Many of the tests are based on W3C working drafts.
#66.6 rpgfan on 06 Mar 2008 - 00:37
(TCLN Ryster said @ #66.4)
Try running the official test at http://www.webstandards.org/act/acid2/test.html instead.

Yeah, I tried running it at http://acid2.acidtests.org/. It didn't work there, and the official one kept timing out. :p

Thanks for noting that the official one should be used.
#66.7 PGHammer on 06 Mar 2008 - 13:30
The Official ACID2 test IE 8b1 passed in a walk. Is the test also browser-resolution dependent? (You are aware that HTML pages are often designed for a specific resolution, and that displaying them at other resolutions can cause display issues?)

In my case, I run IE 8 at 1600x1200 (the same resolution I ran IE 7 at).
(2 replies) #67 david13lt on 05 Mar 2008 - 20:20


Who can lend me 80GB
#67.1 rpgfan on 05 Mar 2008 - 20:23
(david13lt said @ #67)


Who can lend me 80GB

Wow. That is nuts!
#67.2 Tikitiki on 05 Mar 2008 - 23:23
lolz bugz
(1 reply) #68 Midnight Mick on 05 Mar 2008 - 20:29
If I install this can I still use IE7 as well?
#68.1 rpgfan on 05 Mar 2008 - 20:51
(Midnight Mick said @ #6
If I install this can I still use IE7 as well?

In a way, yes, you can. You would need to turn on the "Emulate IE7" feature.
(4 replies) #69 david13lt on 05 Mar 2008 - 20:31
Acid2 test:


Acid3 test:
17/100 (to compare, if I remember correctly Safari 3.1 Beta scores at 87 [might not be true])

FireFox Beta 3 - 59/100
Opera 9.5 Beta 1 - 60/100
Safari 3.1 (31A15) Windows - 76/100 (Webkit wins)


Small JavaScript Performance test: (same versions)
FireFox - 3174ms (It looks that problem is in string functions, it required a lot of time for FireFox, 35950ms)
IE - 1383ms
Opera - 1267ms
Safari - 721ms (Webkit wins)

Last edited by david13lt on 05 Mar 2008 - 20:56
#69.1 +TCLN Ryster on 05 Mar 2008 - 21:27
As I've said above, try running the official test from the webstandards.org (the people who originally published the test).

http://www.webstandards.org/act/acid2/test.html (site was down at the time of posting this though).
#69.2 HawkMan on 05 Mar 2008 - 23:19
if you had waited a couple more second before doing the screenshot, that acid test would have looked perfect.
#69.3 eAi on 06 Mar 2008 - 03:44
3.1 beta (the WebKit nightly builds) gets 90/100 now.
#69.4 david13lt on 06 Mar 2008 - 07:43
Yes, it looks that it really did Acid 2 test perfectly.

@eAi, thanks for wonderful news...
#70 soumyasch on 05 Mar 2008 - 20:31
Does the XP version not have the Activities icon pop up (like they were showing in the videos). The menus are showing up when right-clicked.

I am also getting a 15-20 second lag when typing in the comment box here. Anyone else with the same problems?
#71 gkeramidas on 05 Mar 2008 - 20:32
i already have my links on the taskbar, why would i want them as a favorites bar in ie? half of them don't have anything to do with the internet, they're local.

so that's useless to me, not a feature.
#72 Scoopjeff on 05 Mar 2008 - 20:35
Installed and uninistalled within ten minutes!

Looks very good but you can tell it is a beta 1. There were a few anomolies on different sites main one being MSN home page with a huge map being displayed and no way to get rid of it! Think I will wait for next beta and try again

Regards
Scoop
#73 sharp65 on 05 Mar 2008 - 20:44
I love the new links bar, thats one feature from Firefox that I always wished IE had. The new address bar with the bolded domain is a nice feature I never would of thought of. Some of the sites I go to reguarly show up a little funny, but the IE7 emulation button fixes that. It does pass the acid2 to test for me.
#74 morphen on 05 Mar 2008 - 21:10
the acid website must be hammered, wont load here.
#75 mad_cow40 on 05 Mar 2008 - 21:36
works fine for me. it loads quicker than ie 7....xp sp 2
#76 pippi123 on 05 Mar 2008 - 21:40
Still very rough aroud the edges, was to be expected of course. Many sites don't render properly and it's very sluggish in general.

I'm a bit disappointed by the webslices feature. I hoped it would be possible to webslice any feed but the feeds/pages have to be prepared for it. Nontheless quite cool. Try it out at ie8.ebay.com.

I wonder how they got MSN Weather into a webslice in the preview screenshots.

Last edited by pippi123 on 05 Mar 2008 - 21:56
#77 +TCLN Ryster on 05 Mar 2008 - 21:48
Wasn't there supposed to be a meta tag you could use to tell IE8 to render a page in IE7 mode?

The info located here (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/ie/ie8/readiness/DevelopersExisting.htm) just tells you how to detect the browser so you can have two different versions of your page.
#78 Unto Darkness on 05 Mar 2008 - 21:53
Thouroughly disappointed with the release. It doesn't render pages properly in the so called "Standards mode" and it lags when switching between tabs and typing. Also, I think it is using up more memory then it should [90MB for 3 tabs? Come on!]. Or maybe it is just my computer.

Oh well. It is still Beta 1. Microsoft have got a lot of work on their hands.
#79 TheNay on 05 Mar 2008 - 23:12
Before anyone judges it is BETA from MS, rememeber
#80 Max™ on 05 Mar 2008 - 23:40
Not too shabby for a beta 1. Hopefully beta 2 will have a download manager, which would be awesome.
#81 virtualmadden on 05 Mar 2008 - 23:44
So far it seems more responsive. Also the webslice is nice. It does hang at points, but I'm excited to see what comes along. Hell, maybe I'd be tempted to move back to IE.
#82 FusionOpz on 06 Mar 2008 - 00:03
Microsoft Update breaks in IE8 mode LOL!
(2 replies) #83 clickbouyow on 06 Mar 2008 - 00:08
Bah! Will not install on Vista SP1 Beta. Says OS not supported.
#83.1 XeonBuilder on 06 Mar 2008 - 00:28
"This installation does not support your operating system's current service pack version"

Guess I have to wait till SP1 is installed.
#83.2 +TCLN Ryster on 06 Mar 2008 - 01:20
(clickbouyow said @ #83)
Bah! Will not install on Vista SP1 Beta. Says OS not supported.

Why are you still running beta? Vista SP1 final (aka RC Refresh 2) has been available to the public for ages.
#84 +Octol on 06 Mar 2008 - 00:52
Installed it on my girlfriend's XP SP2 box and it broke Active Desktop in both native mode and IE7 emulation. Uninstalled perfectly.
(2 replies) #85 K39modo Rex on 06 Mar 2008 - 00:57
I downlad it. I install it.
When I go post message at forum, it "stall" for 30 secinid or more then it take my letter slow
If I go Wiki article, when I click pikture it take longer time to load, but then when I go back (one button press) it go back 3 or pages more.
I remove after hour
#85.1 +TCLN Ryster on 06 Mar 2008 - 01:21
Or just press the Emulate IE7 button until the next version comes out.
#85.2 joker999 on 06 Mar 2008 - 07:42
(TCLN Ryster said @ #85.1)
Or just press the Emulate IE7 button until the next version comes out.
i click many times, restart browser, still show as IE8 :/
#86 SirDarkness on 06 Mar 2008 - 01:57
Seems much faster... Little buggy hence the BETA for Dev teams. BUT nice that they add that IE7 Emu button. ALL WORKS GREAT!! and still fast. Also alot of the options are easyer to get to ie: clear temp internet history and they make it customizable to as far as the deleting goes you can check the box for what you want to del. YAY!! Not that CCleaner didnt work but its nice to have. Still no imbedded spell check like firefox has... hence all the misspellings. :-P

NICE!
#87 LUTZIFER on 06 Mar 2008 - 01:59
Wow, IE 8 is awsome!!!
(1 reply) #88 hentaiboy on 06 Mar 2008 - 02:21
Anyone else getting a crash when they click the *Favorites icon?
#88.1 isock86 on 06 Mar 2008 - 03:23
no, its working fine for me
(2 replies) #89 LUTZIFER on 06 Mar 2008 - 02:46
I sure hope MS doesn't add a download manager. It definitely doesnt need crap like that.
Does anyone know how to turn off AutoComplete in the address bar? mine is set to be off, but still does autocomplete, and I hate that crap. About the only prob I found with IE 8.
#89.1 ViperAFK on 06 Mar 2008 - 03:57
Firefox and opera both have download managers, It is a VERY convenient feature that definitely should be added.
#89.2 cpu on 06 Mar 2008 - 08:59
No way. They'll be sued by some one (GetRight? ) and EU Commission sametime for monopolizing of the market. It's allowed only for FF, Opera and Apple.
(2 replies) #90 strekship on 06 Mar 2008 - 03:15
I don't really want to see a download manager, but a window where all the downloads are kept together (like in Firefo would be nice.
#90.1 sreteP on 06 Mar 2008 - 08:46
(strekship said @ #90)
I don't really want to see a download manager, but a window where all the downloads are kept together (like in Firefo would be nice.


IE8 NEEDS a download manager, Vista isn't too great at keeping a wireless connection active for me using a wireless adapter.
#90.2 ViperAFK on 07 Mar 2008 - 01:43
but a window where all the downloads are kept together

Um you mean a download manager?
#91 Hak Foo on 06 Mar 2008 - 03:53
Installed-- now what really impressed me was the developer extension, it's head and shoulders above the IE6 one, and in some respects better than the Firefox one.

#92 rpgfan on 06 Mar 2008 - 04:24
It...It...It actually has a DOM Inspector of sorts! Oh, happy day!

However, it reminds me a little bit of the hidden developer tools in Safari... Box model illustrations anybody? IE has them just like Safari.

I can hear the rip-off trolls coming now... And in an attempt to satisfy those trolls, I shall present an argument: the entire product is not a rip-off of another product if only certain features are taken from that other product. BAM! Trolls died due to lack of argument. j/k :p
(1 reply) #93 s3n4te on 06 Mar 2008 - 04:57
Hotmail (Windows Live Mail) logins in, but doens't show emails.
#93.1 hektik on 09 Mar 2008 - 15:39
Same here - Switching to Classic Hotmail seems to fix it though
#94 Neo Razgriz on 06 Mar 2008 - 06:06
I just tested IE8b1. Didn't seem all that great to be honest. I'll just stick with my optimized Mozilla Minefield. :-)
#95 Eros on 06 Mar 2008 - 06:36
For peoples who is complain that IE8 does'nt pass acid2 test, read it; http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/03/0...sing-acid2.aspx
(1 reply) #96 Scirwode on 06 Mar 2008 - 06:57
Doesn't work on XP SP3. I guess I'll wait until a version for it come out.

Scirwode
#96.1 BBinder on 06 Mar 2008 - 10:21
thats strange cos i got it installed on XP SP3 and its running fine
#97 Budious on 06 Mar 2008 - 07:57
Tried installing on XP SP3 RC2(3311) with IE6 and it was a no go, the system freaked out whenever tried to launch IE8. System Restore got everything working again.
#98 Chicane-UK on 06 Mar 2008 - 08:40
Just installed the beta on my Vista install (Vista Enterprise 32bit) - seems fine so far! Not a web dev or anything - just a normal browser user. As a nice little UI tweak, I like the way it fades the URL except for the domain so you can clearly see at a glance which website you're at.

Will keep experimenting on it but props to Microsoft for getting a public beta out - this really seems like it is being developer driven rather than "marketing" driven, so props to the IE8 devs.
#99 antsy on 06 Mar 2008 - 10:23
8 already, they must be worried!
#100 PGHammer on 06 Mar 2008 - 13:42
I've been running beta 1 for twelve hours, and the only page-rendering issues I have with it are common with *standards-compliant* browsers (not just IE 8b1, but Firefox, Opera, and Safari as well). I'm mostly *not* running it in *Emulate IE 7* mode, either. I threw the ACID2 test at it (the official one) and it passed without a hitch. Running it on Vista Ultimate + SP1 RTM x86. Go 8!

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