Microsoft has recently released the latest version of its Internet Explorer web browser; version 8. Let’s touch on the highlights of this new version, shall we?
- W3C standards compliance. Microsoft has made great strides in embracing these standards, as well as backwards compatibility, privacy and security. You can read more about the specifics at MSDN.
- A “Compatiblity View” option allows users to see sites that are optimized for IE6 or IE7.
- Accelerators: These are a form os selection-based searching. Simply right-click some text to instantly map or share it.
- WebSlices: This is a feature to integrate content from certain popular sites directly into the browser. These are fed by RSS.
- InPrivate Browsing: Essentially this disables the ‘History’ feature within the browser.
- For a complete overview, visit Microsoft’s site.
Some of these are good, some maybe not to smuch. There are, however, implications this new version may have to your website, specifically how it displays. There is, however, a saving grace. There is a quick tag that you can insert into your pages to force IE8 to display your site in “IE7″ mode. It looks like this, and goes in the <HEAD> area of your pages:
- <meta http-equiv=”X-UA-Compatible” content=”IE=EmulateIE7″ />
According to Microsoft, “For many Web sites, this is the preferred compatibility mode.” Something to consider in the short term until the full implications of this new version are realized.
Oh, and if you want to download it, go here.
