Microsoft announced the launch of InterÂnet ExplorÂer 8 yesÂterÂday; I urge everyÂone to downÂload it as soon as posÂsiÂble, and to encourÂage their friends to do likeÂwise — espeÂcialÂly if their friends are using IE6. It’s great that we have anothÂer stanÂdards-comÂpliÂant browsÂer on the marÂket, and I hope that adopÂtion is swift.
What I would realÂly like to see from Microsoft now is a series of iterÂaÂtive releasÂes introÂducÂing new stanÂdards; rather than waitÂing three years for IE9, I would much rather wait one year for IE8.1. GenÂerÂal manÂagÂer, Dean Hachamovitch, has statÂed that there is a comÂmitÂment on their side as long as test suites exist, so I call on all browsÂer makÂers and stanÂdards bodÂies to work togethÂer to achieve that.
The InterÂnet ExplorÂer team have announced the (first?) release canÂdiÂdate of IE8 (downÂload it here). I used it briefly last night and it seems perÂfectÂly staÂble; I doubt it will change much (if at all) before the final version.
If you know anyÂone who uses IE as their priÂmaÂry browsÂer, encourÂage them to update as soon as posÂsiÂble; we need to get everyÂone onto stanÂdards-comÂpliÂant browsers so we can stop wastÂing time panÂderÂing to IE6.
With IE8 expectÂed to be released in the near future, now’s a good time to make sure you know all about its new feaÂtures; handÂiÂly, the latÂest issue of Code Focus magÂaÂzine is an IE8 speÂcial, with artiÂcles on subÂjects rangÂing from webÂsite comÂpatÂiÂbilÂiÂty to AJAX performance.
Today is my penulÂtiÂmate day in my curÂrent job; next week I’m going on a trip to Spain, and when I get back I’m startÂing my new job at the award-winÂning PreÂloaded agency. My focus will be shiftÂing away from client-side develÂopÂment and onto inforÂmaÂtion archiÂtecÂture; it’s a fanÂtasÂtic chalÂlenge for me, and I’m very excitÂed about workÂing on top brands for a top agency.
I’ve been slowÂly introÂducÂing IA into my role over the past three years, and so this is a logÂiÂcal step for me to take. I’ll be sad to leave my curÂrent agency, but delightÂed to be movÂing to someÂwhere I’ll be able to focus on what I think are the next hot topÂics on the web: findÂabilÂiÂty & usability.
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Last night Microsoft announced the release of the secÂond beta of InterÂnet ExplorÂer 8, which is no doubt very simÂiÂlar to the final release verÂsion. You can downÂload it from microsoft.com/ie8 (notes on upgradÂing).
WebÂmonÂkey have a nice round-up of the new feaÂtures, so I won’t bothÂer repeatÂing that; instead, here are my first impresÂsions after an hour or so’s use.
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One of the new feaÂtures already announced for IE8 is WebÂSlices; essenÂtialÂly, the abilÂiÂty to subÂscribe to any part of a web page, even if it doesÂn’t have an RSS feed. It sounds someÂwhat simÂiÂlar to FireÂfox’s MicroÂsumÂmaries feaÂture*, although it’s a) easÂiÂer to impleÂment, b) more flexÂiÂble, and c) not buried in the browsÂer where no-one could ever find it.
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