David Stansbury KB3KAI

Internet Explorer 8 (download) is now out for your browsing pleasure. As a web developer it is important to check for cross-browser compatibility so today I installed it.

Many features look familiar from IE7, some are new. Of course there are others out there posting their own reviews, this posting discusses features I feel are worth mentioning. Below are some screen shots and my 10 minute review of Internet Explorer 8. Please pardon the poor quality dithering.

Download Internet Explorer 8, go through the normal installation windows and TOS agreement stuff. One thing I like to see is Microsoft providing and running a malicious software removal tool. It may only provide a minor security benefit (I’ll post much more security-related musings soon) but nonetheless I appreciate the effort.

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IE8 has a browser import feature that can import favorites, feeds and settings from other popular browsers such as Firefox and Safari.

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The installation process allows you to do a quick default install which pre-loads the settings with Microsoft services such as web search, blogging, dictionary lookup, language translate and more. These services are later available from the top toolbar or by selecting web page text and right-click menu option. The online search providers page is familiar from IE7, simply click a link to add the search provider.

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The activity providers options is something new and interesting. This is where you can add providers for those new menu and right-click options. There aren’t many providers listed on the service gallery page, we can hope that more become available as IE8 matures.

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The next thing I looked at was internet options. Most are carried over from IE7, though I did immediately notice the multiple tab homepage option. The General tab lists the stuff that most users should limit themselves to - set your homepage(s), clear browsing history, adjust search provider, mess with tabs and adjust color/appearance.

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I then notice a cool tool added to IE8 - the Developer Tools button.

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Of course I clicked it! I was rewarded with a code view of my web page. But much more than that. This thing shows code hierarchy (yes I misspelled it in the screen grab lol), actual CSS code listings, CSS layout and raw CSS script.

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You can highlight a specific page code element and IE8 will display the CSS code applied to it - very slick!

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I do have a couple of irritations with IE8. First, my Print-Screen button seems to have been hijacked! It was previously mapped as the hot button for my Snag-It screen capture software. I lost that functionality and have been unable to restore it thru the software settings, so I was forced to map a different key combo. Secondly, on some pages I browsed the CSS layout appeared different than in IE7 or Firefox. In one case a page element normally found on the right side suddenly moved to the left. In another I notice where I applied a graphic (arrow) thru CSS to display in a bullet list, the graphic is no longer visible (see images below). I haven’t gone back to diagnose, maybe my CSS is funky, maybe IE8 is. If I find any errors I’ll report back.
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Here is the bullet list viewed in Firefox

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And the same bullet list viewed in IE8 (no pretty orange arrows)

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Comments welcome! - Dave

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