Internet Explorer 8 (beta): A first look

I was feeling very brave yesterday (after my Wildcat's beat Pitt) to download the beta version of Internet Explorer 8. My initial impressions are:

1. It seems a bit faster in the loading process compared to earlier versions. Loading speed has been one of the complaints compared to its competitors.

2. I Like the "compatibility view" if the sites you visit work better with an older version of IE. I tested it with a couple of sites and the compatibility view let me use the site normally.

3. Ease of use is marginally better over IE 7.

I am going to start adding plug-ins over time and see how the performance keeps up. Considering it is a beta version, I am sure there are some snags that I haven't discovered yet. IE 8 is an effort from MS to slow down the migration of users to the competition. Recent figures show that IE has 67% and firefox is at 22%. Not too long ago, IE was around 75% so Microsoft is obviously concerned. But is this too little too late! Time will tell but my bet is yes!

My browser preference is still Chrome, firefox and Safari in that order. Stay tuned for more....

Rajeev
Go Wildcats!