Microsoft has released a public beta for Internet Explorer 8. This release is intended to help web designers and web developers prepare for the upcoming version of the browser.
Some of the most important features for developers are the improved compatibility and interoperability and the new developer toolbar which enables developers to quickly debug HTML, cascading style sheets, and JavaScript in a visual development environment. Other improvements are the full integration for cascading style sheets, version 2.1 as well as the HTML improvements like the separate URL handing for attributes.
Easier and faster, Internet Explorer 8 will offer three different rendering modes :
- Quirks mode which supports Internet Explorer 5 and legacy browsers
- Strict mode which supports Internet Explorer 7 and is accessed through the emulate Internet Explorer 7 button
- Internet Explorer 8 standards mode
Some new features are also added. For example Activities and WebSlices.
Activities are contextual services that provide quick access to external services from any webpage.
WebSlices behave just like feeds in that users can subscribe to them and receive update notifications when the content changes.
View the full list of features on the Microsoft website
Download Internet Explorer 8 public beta (for web designers and developers)
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