Microsoft To Release Ie 8 Beta 1 In First Half Of 2008

[Thaising]

Microsoft plans to release the first beta of the next version of Internet Explorer in the first half of 2008, and said that IE 8 has passed a key Web standards test that ensures the browser won't "break" the Web.

IE8 has passed the "Acid2 Browser Test" from the Web Standards Project, which shows whether a browser renders a Web site in a certain way. If the browser renders the site correctly, it means the browser supports certain accepted Web standards.

Microsoft posted a video about the browser passing the test on its Channel 9 Web site.

Microsoft developed IE before some Web standards such as CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and RSS (Really Simple Syndication) were developed, and so older versions don't support some current standards. Developers would write applications to work with IE rather than to support Web standards, since the browser was the de facto standard for surfing the Internet for so many years. Microsoft also was lax in updating IE to meet the demands of Web standards, since there was little competition in the browser market for years.

With the release and subsequent popularity of open-source browser Mozilla Firefox three years ago, a browser's need to stay current with Web standards once again moved to the forefront. When Microsoft developed IE7, released in October 2006, the company had good intentions and decided to improved support of Web standards with the new release.

However, Web sites that were created for older versions of IE didn't work properly on IE7. Microsoft hopes to remedy this problem so the situation is not repeated with IE8, according to an IE Blog posting attributed to Dean Hachamovitch, a Microsoft general manager on the IE team.

"With respect to standards and interoperability, our goal in developing Internet Explorer 8 is to support the right set of standards with excellent implementations and do so without breaking the existing Web," according to the blog posting.

Hachamovitch said Microsoft is taking a cue in lessons learned from making improvements to CSS in IE7 that "made IE more compliant with some standards and less compatible with some sites on the Web as they were coded." The key design goal for IE8, he said, is compatibility with existing Web sites and Web standards supported in other browsers to provide a premium user experience.

"As a developer, I'd prefer to not have to write the same site multiple times for different browsers," according to Hachamovitch's post. "Standards are a (critical!) means to this end, and we focus on the standards that will help actual, real-world interoperability the most. As a consumer and a developer, I expect stuff to just work, and I also expect backwards compatibility. When I get a new version of my current browser, I expect all the sites that worked before will still work."

Microsoft said the final release of IE8 depends upon feedback received from the beta process.

[JetsetBkk]

Anything that encourages developers to make their web sites compatible with Firefox has got to be a good thing.

[stumonster]

you can download the new version here

www.mozilla.com

[Gary A]

I'll be interested in the size of the download. I'd bet the browser will be BIG, bloated and slow.

[Veazer]

"...As a developer, I'd prefer to not have to write the same site multiple times for different browsers," according to Hachamovitch's post. "Standards are a (critical!) means to this end, and we focus on the standards that will help actual, real-world interoperability the most...

Ha! This is from MS??? Take a look at the code for any CMS, eCommerce package, etc. and count the number of times you see the terms "IE Fix" or "IE Bugfix", "IE workaround", etc.

[Guest Reimar]

You can read at Softpedia:

Forget about IE8 – Onward to Internet Explorer 9 in Windows 7

Well, Internet Explore 8 is not even barely out the door and there has already been talk about Internet Explorer 9... The fact of the matter is that IE8 is not out the door at all.

Currently, the browser designed as the successor of Internet Explorer 7 is available exclusively and internally over at Microsoft. And that's pretty much it. The Redmond company, courtesy of IE General Manager, Dean Hachamovitch, and IE Architect, Chris Wilson, have offered a glimpse into the work done to make IE8 standards compliant and to increase the interoperability of the product as much as possible. So, at this point, we have just got a taste of IE8, it's not yet time to forget about the browser.

But nonetheless, in an interview done with Hachamovitch and Wilson for Channel 9, there is a mention of Internet Explorer 9 and an apparent codename Triton. I will have to disappoint all you readers that actually think Triton is the codename dot IE9. As I have said, IE8 is still dogfooded at Microsoft in early development stages, even though it has been cooking for almost a year now. It would be nothing short of absurd to think that Microsoft has already started building IE9. Trition is nothing more than a small error.

You will see a few seconds down the road that the presenter actually corrects himself and mentions Trident. Now, Triton makes absolutely no sense at all, but Trident on the other hand... Now, where have I heard that one before? It's rather simple actually, Trident is the name of the layout engine for Internet Explorer 7 and also for older versions, and apparently for Internet Explorer 8. In order to better understand this, you would have to look at Mozilla, the layout engine for the Firefox 3.0/ Gran Paradiso open source browser is Gecko 1.9. I think it's pretty clear now.

But, what about Internet Explorer 9 and Windows 7? Hmm... Microsoft plans to offer the first beta version for IE8 by mid 2008, with more details on the browser at MIX08 in early March. The final IE8 could drop by the end of this year, but also in early 2009, considering the two-year release timeframe that Microsoft has now imposed for the next versions of IE. Taking into consideration this and the fact that Windows 7 is planned for 2010, it is clear that there will be a synchronization between the next version of IE and the next iteration of Windows. Of course, it is all speculation on my part. At this point in time, Microsoft might not even be planning IE9, it could very well release an IE8.x along with Windows 7. It's all up in the air for now...

[JetsetBkk]

you can download the new version here

www.mozilla.com

Heh, heh! Remember this site?: http://www.ie7.com