Windows Internet Explorer 8

[nong38]

I currently have windows internet explorer 7, every other day I am hit with upgrade to '8' is it worth the bother? I guess that I will not be able to return to '7' if I dont like it, so what does the world of wisdom here think I should do? I dont play or downlaod games or films if that helps. Any advice would be useful thanks.

Edited February 18, 2011 by nong38

[Phil Conners]

No. There are so many better browsers out there, available for free. For example Google Chrome or Firefox.

[lopburi3]

I have never paid for IE so don't believe that is an issue. As IE8 has capability mode built in it should do everything IE7 does, the way IE7 does it, and provide more features and better speed.

Both Chrome and Firefox are capable alternatives.

[topt]

I have 7 on one laptop and 8 on another. In use I see very little difference. I only kept 7 on one laptop as I was concerned about 8 crashing as had been reported early in its life. It now appears to be pretty stable so I will probably migrate both to 8.

If you want to get rid of the reminder for most of the time try "hiding it" - from memory you can right click on it and then hide it. If you find you want it you just unhide it from the menu in updates.

[garyh]

I switched to Google Chrome a year ago, no way I would go back to MS IE.

[nong38]

Thanks for your illumination and experience, I will get rid of the invitation and try google and firefox, have them both installed. As you have probably gathered I am not a computer expert!

[innerspace]

Internet explorer 1-8 are put mildly, terrible.

There are a very well defined set of standards for HTML which is what all web pages are made up of.

IE 1-8 make up the rules themselves, ignoring the standards and doing things completely differently.

IE 7 and 8 have compatibility mode which is just microsofts way of trying to work around the terrible decisions they have made in the past.

IE8 works very differently to IE 7, which works very differently to IE6 - hence the need for a compatibility mode.

All other browsers do things (pretty much) as they should be done, which means version to version things work the same.

10 years ago web developers made websites for internet explorer and then tweaked them to also work in the other browsers that did things the "proper" way.

Now it is almost always done the other way round - websites are made for standards compliant browsers and then tweaked to work in each different version of internet explorer.

IE 1-8 are each as bad as each other and the biggest source of headaches for web developers.

As well as ignoring the standards IE 1-8 are also well behind on adopting recent changes to the standards.

Firefox, chrome, safari, opera etc will not only work better they will also LOOK better - due to features such as rounded corners, drop shadows and the like.

However, there is an alternative for all die hard IE users - IE 9 which is the first EVER internet explorer to be standards compliant and supports the latest versions of HTML and CSS.

Yesterday windows update offered me the release candidate for IE9 which should mean that it hits the public very soon (you can download it already anyway).

Personally I hate Internet Explorer and only use it for testing sites and one of my banks (which doesn't support anything else).

But everyone is different is choice is advantageous to a healthy market place (even when the market is free).

If you want a fast and efficient browser use chrome.

If you want a customisable browser use firefox.

If you want an apple experience use Safari.

If you are a die hard opera fan use opera.

If you absolutely must use Internet Explorer get version 9 (although if memory serves well it won't be available on XP, only win 7)

If your not sure, try them all and make up your own mind.

[whybother]

I've been using Firefox 4 (beta) for a couple of months. Much better than IE.

[lopburi3]

Actually IE was a huge improvement over the then 'main' browser Netscape (before it went AOL) and I was the first to change. And since that time most pages have been designed to work on IE and still are. The problem came with complacency and slow innovation (plus being the target of every hacker) more than browser failings. Agree there are now good alternatives but IE8 is not a bad browser and will still sometimes work when others will not. I alternate between Chrome and Firefox currently but have had several total lockups of FF4 (had to use task manager to close the process) so would not call it ready for prime time yet.

[Phil Conners]

^ Yeah, you're obviously not a website designer. 'nuff said.

[Digitalbanana]

The o/p should upgrade to latest version, and for that matter all security updates.

[Darrel]

The o/p should upgrade to latest version, and for that matter all security updates.

Yes indeed. And that applies no matter which browser anyone chooses to use. Browsers and operating systems MUST be kept up to date.

Personally I regularly use Firefox 3.6 and IE8 (soon to be replaced by IE9 and Firefox 4, as mentioned) as they do different things in different ways. Also some plug-ins will only work on one browser.

I also have Safari and Chrome installed as I need them to develop websites.

[Supernova]

The o/p should upgrade to latest version, and for that matter all security updates.

Yes indeed. And that applies no matter which browser anyone chooses to use. Browsers and operating systems MUST be kept up to date.

I agree. The OP should install IE8 (or the latest version from MS), if only for the sake of having the most up-to-date IE browser on his/her Windows computer. I do this on my XP machine even though Chrome is my browser of choice.

Edited February 19, 2011 by Supernova

[craig]

I opted out of windows explorer years ago & adopted firefox. Several years ago I moved onto Opera as it was much faster & more stable than firefox on my internet connection here. I really like some of the features on firefox. In September while visiting in Seattle the nephew of a friend (a professional computer technician) recommended Google Chrome. I'd tried Chrome when it came out but had some problems with it & was happy with Opera. In December Opera started acting up & I gave Chrome another try. Now I am very pleased with Chrome...I keep Opera for the great RSS feature, Firefox for Utube downloads & Chrome for all other purposes as it is much faster for most sites.

Do what you will but I recommend having at least three browsers ready to go. If one crashes out then you have others to go to.

Edited February 19, 2011 by craig

[Pib]

IE8 been working fine for me. Upgrade from IE7 to IE8 went smooth and fast....after the upgrade, I needed to spend a little time on figuring out the differences/improvements.

Oh my gosh, what did I just say, I'm going to be shot by all the FireFox, Chrome, anti-Microsoft, etc., folks.

[Slip]

I use all of the mentioned browsers except opera. It's worth having more than one, especially if you suffer a Thai up country connection- Many times one browser will load when the rest won't.

I think Flock also deserves a mention though on my system it's not very stable.

Chrome is my standard now- fast and stable. Firefox spunks ram like it's going out of fashion in my experience and I've just never liked IE.

[TimeBandit2]

IE8 uses graphical APIs more appropriate to Windows 7 than IE7 or Firefox.

I can't remember exactly but I think it uses Direct2D or something that isn't supported at all by XP.

And the previous posters who mentioned the security updates are right. When IE8 is released everyone who uses Windows 7 should update a matter of system security even if they never use IE on the web at all.

I use Firefox BTW.

Edited February 19, 2011 by TimeBandit2

[jingjoke]

I thought I had deleted IE but it is still somewhere in the depths of my pc. I've never liked it and have been using Firefox for years. I need to rid my computer of IE because my 'Spybot-SD Resident' keeps sounding alarms over Trojans, specifically the persistent 'Facemood'. Can anyone help rid me of IE for good.

BTW, 'Spybot-SD Resident' is excellent, and free. It picks up spyware that 'Trend Micro Housecall', ESET online scanner' and 'System Mechanic Professional' pass over.

Cheers

[BB1950]

I thought I had deleted IE but it is still somewhere in the depths of my pc. I've never liked it and have been using Firefox for years. I need to rid my computer of IE because my 'Spybot-SD Resident' keeps sounding alarms over Trojans, specifically the persistent 'Facemood'. Can anyone help rid me of IE for good.

BTW, 'Spybot-SD Resident' is excellent, and free. It picks up spyware that 'Trend Micro Housecall', ESET online scanner' and 'System Mechanic Professional' pass over.

Cheers

If you use Windows XP you can't get rid of all of it. It is necessary to do Windows Updates on XP.