Microsoft has released the Internet Explorer 8 beta 1 to the public for testing and evaluation. Web designers and developers can take this opportunity to prepare their websites for the launch of Internet Explorer 8.

Let take a look at the new features:

Activities – This feature allow the users to highlight a word, phrases, images, link and send it to various application such as digg, Google maps, Facebook etc.

WebSlices – WebSlices allows the users to subscribe the content (or portion of the content) directly within a webpage. The subscribed content is placed in the favorite bar for easy access and retrieval.

Favorites Bar – The Favorites bar enable users to place their favorite web content such as links, feeds, WebSlices and even Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents.

Automatic Crash Recovery – Automatic Crash Recovery (ACR) is a feature that can help to prevent the loss of work and productivity in the unlikely event of the browser crashing or hanging.

Improved Phishing Filter – An improved phishing filter from IE7.

Overall, I am not at all impressed with the IE8 Beta 1. Some of the new features are not really “new” as they are already available (or have similar features) in other browsers. The WebSlices is similar to WebClips in Safari, Favorite bar is the equivalent of Bookmark bar in Firefox, the ACR feature has long been incorporated in Firefox since version 2.

“Internet Explorer 8 introduces a new way to seamlessly experience the best of the web whether you are a web developer writing to standards or a user discovering a new online service.” – by Microsoft

I am waiting to see how true this is.

If you can’t live without Internet Explorer, feel free to download and test it.

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