First Look IE 8

For a past three days I am using evaluating the new Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 version. The first thing you will notice is that the domain highlight feature in IE 8. The exact domain name is highlighted excluding the other address parameters.

IE 8 comes with many other features for web developers and web designers. The ‘Activities’ allow you to map an address on webpage directly to Yahoo or MSN (not Google) maps. The map opens up in small interactive window without forcing the user to leave the current window. Other useful Activities currently supported include eBay product search, Facebook and StumbleUpon. The Webslices, developer tools and Ajax features empower the user to use the web in better and intelligent way. Check out the Ajax navigation features which stores the browser state using Ajax (especially useful when browsing a map). The developer tools allow the easy debugging of the applications within the IE eliminating the need to download auxiliary applications.

Yahoo mail is still not compatible with IE8. I had to switch back to mail Classic to access my email. Also my iGoogle personal homepage also gave some error with IE 8. However this should be temporary and resolved shortly. Anyway I will better use Firefox for time being but will certainly keep an 'open' eye on IE8 development.