Using IE8 daily: a brief review
When Microsoft released the final version of IE8, the Web lie up with reviews and opinions, many valid but many, many more pure flaming. The “browser hardcore” leapt to the defence of their preferred brand, and united in painting IE8 with the standard Microsoft-related rhetoric; too slow, too bloated, too insecure etc.
I’ve been using the final release of IE8 since it launched, and here offer some more measured thoughts on the new browser. Keep in mind, I’m pretty browser-agnostic, and have installed (and even use quite regularly) Firefox which I like for its security, Safari which I enjoy for its rendering look, and Chrome which I appreciate the outright performance of. Each of them has flaws, each strengths. I had, before IE8 came about, largely quit using the Microsoft browser range, as these three fulfilled my primary needs better. The lengthy install time and requirement to reboot my machine when installing IE8 was not an auspicious beginning!
Running on Vista 32-bit, IE8 wasn’t quite as all-conquering from a speed perspective as many users of Windows 7 have reported, but it was very closely comparable to Firefox, and both are slightly slower than the lean Chrome. If you’re a Firefox user, you won’t notice any real speed differences in IE8, although granular tests have shown IE to be slightly zippier on certain pages, slightly slower on others. Chrome remains the quickest, if you can live with the spyware caveats.
Firefox is still clearly the best in terms of customisability and extensibility – the comprehensive repository of add-ons mean you can quite literally find any feature you want if you’re willing to search. IE8 has tried to compete here, but as its less than two weeks old its unsurprising that the options remain pretty limited. Perhaps it will grow, perhaps not.
From a security perspective, well the news that IE8 was hacked on the day that it launched wasn’t a great start, but Microsoft being the Big Dog is always ruthlessly targeted by these experts anyway. IE8 does include a few features the others simply don’t on this front, like InPrivate browsing which removes any paper-trail for those browsing potentially less savoury content, the SmartFilter which monitors a global blacklist of sites identified as dangerous and blocks the user from accessing this content, and the useful smart address bar which merely highlights the domain of the site you’re visiting to more easily alert the average user to potential phishing threats. Nice touches, especially for the average Joe.
Hopefully Microsoft will back this up by quickly responding to additional security holes as they appear, and area in which Mozilla has comprehensively thrashed the software giant historically.
I’ve also become a big fan of the other hyped IE8 features, namely Web Slices and Web Accelerators. Yes Web Slices are just RSS feeds pretty much, but they’re nicely integrated into the browser by default and are genuinely useable even by non Internet gurus. And the Web Accelerators, which give you access to common tasks like posting to your social networking page, are also nicely functional and do enhance the overall Web experience.
The Smart Search bar is nothing new but a necessary addition to IE, while the improved tab handling – comparable with the best which in my view would be Chrome – is good to see. In fact if you like the way Windows groups applications in your taskbar (which I don’t) you’ll be pleased to see it doing the same now with tabs. Tabs are also separated now in your processes, so if one crashes it doesn’t take every open IE session down with it. I also appreciate the Compatibility mode, which works automatically for some older Web sites and has to be turned on, once only at least, for others.
A less talked-about feature I also thoroughly appreciate is the Developer tools option in the page-view right-click menu. This is something like the old View Source, but better organised and with more detailed code arrangement and grouping.
Naturally those who are loyal to one or other of the browsers available at the moment are going to shred IE8 for all they’re worth, and they have every right to continue to use whatever browser they choose. But for myself, well IE8 will probably be my browser of choice until the others come up with some new killer features.
Microsoft IE8 – how do you think it compares?
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