Posted on 03/22/2009 9:32:50 PM PDT by Swordmaker
Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 has now been available, downloaded, installed and tested around the world and, so far, the reviews have been OK if not mixed. But a mini-storm could be brewing on the horizon. When IE 8 dropped on Thursday, many in the development community rushed to download it, install it and try it out on the Acid 3 Test, developed by The Web Standards Project. All over the world, the score was turning up the same for almost everyone. Out of a possible score of 100, IE 8 rang up 20. It failed the test and failed it badly.
What's the early reaction to IE8's performance on Acid3? Well, on Twitter, there's this:
Ugh! Activating that ActiveX control did nothing. IE8 is still 20/100 on Acid3. What a waste.
Or this:
Acid3 test FAIL in Internet Explorer 8. Actually crashed the browser.
Or this:
I did the acid3 test on my wife's phone with 2.2 and got 74/100.
Or this:
So IE8 scores 20/100 on the Acid3 test. The next 8 years should be fun trying to work around the usual IE incompatibilities... :/
Is this all just a bunch of developer psychodrama?
Consider this: Developers cast a vote every day for the technology that will ultimately win out in the marketplace - - the technology that can more than most help them to be successful. Standards help them to be successful. And while IE 8 is scoring 20 out of 100 on the Acid 3 standards test, a company down the coast, in Cupertino, Calif., did just a tad better. Apple's Safari 4 browser scores 100 on Acid 3. They also have a little product called the iPhone that uses Safari, that's enjoying some success.
In and of itself, standards compliance for free software like a browser won't determine the king of the marketplace. But Microsoft is losing market share on the desktop, and its desktop business actually shrunk during its most recent quarter. Right now it could use all the friends it can get. And in a community critical to the technology industry, its longtime rival Apple now has a big advantage.
Not a bit. Read this if you want the details:
http://www.freerepublic.com/~dayglored/
Specifically the section at the end titled "Computer-tech Full Disclosure Section".
Not stuck in the mid 90's, but I think all this web 2.0 crap is just that crap. The technology will always improve, but their utilization of said technology isn't very innovative.
The newest version of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer has major improvements.
By WALTER MOSSBERG
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
March 22, 2009
The Web browser is arguably the most important piece of software on a computer. No longer just a tool for perusing or searching for information, it has become, for many people, their principal communications medium, their photo album, their newspaper, social club, bank and shopping mall.
And, among Web browsers, by far the most popular is Microsoft's Internet Explorer, or IE, which comes on every new Windows computer. So when Microsoft changes Internet Explorer, those changes affect vast numbers of people, and the Web itself. This week, Microsoft is changing its browser in a major way. On Thursday, the company released IE8, the biggest overhaul of Internet Explorer in years.
I've been testing IE8 for months, first using its prerelease versions and, more recently, the final version. I've found it to be a big improvement over its predecessor, IE7, and a much closer competitor to its main rival, Mozilla's Firefox. IE8 is more stable than IE7, more compatible with industry-wide Web standards, and packed with new features that improve navigation, search, ease of use, privacy and security.
Some of these features can't be matched out of the box by its main rival browsers. For instance, related tabs are color-coded, the search field can show images along with text, you can get instant fly-out maps of place names in Web pages, and you can easily hide your tracks online from the prying eyes of advertisers.
Well glad to see you take a middle of the road approach regarding computers. I am in that boat myself, as I am no big fan of Microsoft or Intel/AMD, but I see and recognize the PC as a standard. The Apple tried to buck the trend and I see them as the black sheep of the family, and there are always those out there that want the runt of the litter. I just find it ridiculous for Apple fanatics to be just that. I am their devil’s advocate.
Ok, I'll agree on the last part. OTOH, you said that fancy formatting only mattered to, let's see...
... HTML/XML and CSS and Java graphic designer geeks ...I submit that it -does- matter to the average viewer, and whether or not they know how it was done is secondary or less. But we need not argue about that, I'm willing to agree to disagree on its relevance, not having any handy statistics to throw around at the moment.
I guess you are OK with Microsoft setting their own proprietary standards that results in all other browsers not working properly with web pages designed by MS web design software?
So accepting and using international standards and formats is "bucking the trend," and because they aren't using Microsoft Windows, they are the Black Sheep. Sorry. Why should we lower our standards?
I will agree with ytou there Swordmaker, Microsoft is the lagging company of browsers, and they do seem to want to be the most non compliant. That I will say I hate, but on the other hand that brings me to how Apple is basically proprietary for the most part and we won’t open that old can of worms here.
He does say that he found it to be slower than Firefox, but it may be that I’m using Win7 and so either Firefox doesn’t run as well, or IE8 runs better.
So you are running the beta version?
I’m a recent convert to Firefox 3, since 3.0.5 to the newest 3.0.7. I will say it is a bunch faster than IE7 and IE8. In Windows 7 IE8 does seem quicker than it does under Vista Sp1 or SP2 RC1 or XP SP3. Firefox 3 is also quicker in Win7 and I’d say it is neck and neck with IE8. Only problem is my version of IE8 crashed in Win7 so I have been using FF exclusively until Microsoft offers a stand alone download of IE 8 for Win7 or if there is a way to repair the version I have now that is inoperable.
Actually I'd characterize myself as "all over the road", since I've got one wheel in each of about 4 lanes simultaneously. But thanks anyway...
> ... as I am no big fan of Microsoft or Intel/AMD, but I see and recognize the PC as a standard. The Apple tried to buck the trend ...
"Buck the trend" vs. "Lead the trend"... Depends on how you read your computer history. Apple was there years before IBM brought out the PC, and has most often been the first out with any given innovation. That's well-documented, I encourage you to research it. While the numbers of computers certainly have been in the PC's favor since the mid-80's, the fact is that most times, Apple brings out something new, and the PC "trend" follows it a year or two later. "Trend-setting" is Apple's stock in trade, not the PC's.
> ... and I see them as the black sheep of the family, and there are always those out there that want the runt of the litter.
That's inaccurate, as a characterization -- be careful, you're showing your hatred of Apple. ;-)
> I just find it ridiculous for Apple fanatics to be just that.
I have no time for Apple fanboys either.
> I am their devil’s advocate.
I think you need to look up the definition of "devil's advocate".
:^)
I'm pretty sure that MS acknowledges that IE8 does not yet run stably in Win7. I'm sure they'll address that quickly, but I haven't seen it yet.
Build 7057 includes the release version of IE8, btw.
For what it's worth, I don't use Safari unless forced to, just as I don't use IE unless forced to. Firefox runs on my Linux, Windows, and Mac boxes, and I like portability and commonality because it makes me have to fight with it less, my bookmarks file moves from machine to machine without hassle, etc. etc.
I basic switch between all three, depending on what I'm doing.
‘I basic’ s/b ‘I basically’
Consider this from:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/Internet-explorer/default.aspx
We’re sorry, but you won’t be able to download Internet Explorer 8 for Windows 7 Beta at this time.Windows 7 Beta already includes a pre-release candidate version of Internet Explorer 8 that is optimized for that release. Windows 7 enables unique features and functionality in Internet Explorer 8 including Windows Touch and Jump Lists which require additional product tests to ensure we are providing the best Windows experience for our customers.
We will continue to update the version of Internet Explorer 8 running on Windows 7 as the development cycles of Windows 7 progress and plan to include the final version of Internet Explorer 8 in the release candidate version of Windows 7 later this year.
In common parlance, a devil's advocate is someone who takes a position, sometimes one he or she disagrees with, for the sake of argument. This process can be used to test the quality of the original argument and identify weaknesses in its structure.
I stand by my earlier statement.
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