Storage Informer

At its MIX 09 conference in Las Vegas, Microsoft has revealed the public launch of IE8, which includes numerous navigation, security and performance improvements.

Microsoft will release Internet Explorer 8 to the public at 9 a.m., Pacific Time, Thursday, when users will be able to start taking advantage of the many navigational and security-related enhancements in the latest version of the Web browser.The improvements Microsoft has made in IE8 are primarily in response to feedback gathered by Microsoft’s anonymous feedback telemetry system, and focus largely on navigation, said Amy Barzdukas, senior director for Internet Explorer.

One such enhancement, Web Slices, lets users create something akin to graphical RSS feeds. For example, users can add a Web Slice to eBay to keep track of an item up for bid, and the Web Slice will give them an actual graphic feed or “slice” of eBay’s site, as opposed to just text.

IE8 Accelerators are add-ons that allow information to be transferred from one Web page to another without the need for copying, pasting and navigating to a new browser window or tab.

“These are great opportunities for third parties and partners to develop sticky, highly interactive experiences to drive more business to their Web sites,” Barzdukas said.

IE8′s most-talked-about feature is probably InPrivate Browsing, known in some circles as “porn mode,” for its ability to let users mask their browsing history, temporary Internet files, form data, cookies, and usernames and passwords.

URL: http://www.crn.com/software/215901086?cid=topicalFeed