Internet Explorer 8 - is it worth it?

[Dan Knowlson]

Vista on my laptop has just started to nag me to update to IE8 as an important update.

Before I go ahead and install it, is it worth it? Will it stuff up Vista or is it working well enough to upgrade?

I generally use Firefox for my browsing, but use IE to test website designs work correctly, but for that I usually use an XP pc as I can run multiple versions of IE on the same pc.

[Stationery-Direct.co.uk]

I run FF3 and IE8, IE8 works fine for me.

[royalegraphics]

I use Vista and installed IE8 a couple of weeks ago. I've had to reinstall IE7 as my computer kept crashing and I had to keeping restarting the browser

[Dan Knowlson]

Thanks folks... seems to tie in with the reports I've heard, some good some not so good....

May as well give it a whirl and see how it goes...

[Stationery-Direct.co.uk]

Yeah exactly, you can always un-install it if it causes problems.

[Gerry Brannigan]

Hi Dan,

I have had no problems with IE8. I was reading a review in a magazine not so long ago about the browsers and Internet Explorer is starting to makes it mark and has certainly come along way. I used to use Firefox but found some sites just don't support it. Opera is the best browser I would say out of them all, it also uses less memory than the others.

It really is done to individual preference though.

[royalegraphics]

Just installed IE8 again yeaterday, it crashed straight away and wouldn't close down. Seems to be working ok today just a bit slow

[Tridene Solutions]

Hi there,

Is it worth installing IE8? In short, yes it is. Sort of.

Firstly, do all your windows updates, then remove any toolbars like the google/yahoo/msn toolbar for internet explorer Then reboot. Then install IE 8. Then go to adobe.com and install the latest flash player. Nine times out of ten when IE crashes, it's the plug-ins like the toolbars etc that cause issues.

The reason to install IE8 is that it's more compliant with W3C standards than ever before. It is almost compliant with the as-yet unratified CSS 2.0 standards, which means that as new sites are developed you'll be able to sere them as the author intended without any crazy layout issues.

One thing to note about IE 8 is that some sites don't look the same as they did with IE 7. Clicking the Compatibility view button will cure this.

Hope this helps,

Rich

[matt.chatterley]

I haven't noticed anything too objectionable about running with IE8 yet. Admittedly I only use it for site testing, plus the odd thing which doesn't render in FF.

It seems to faff a bit less on startup than IE7 did.

[riskbase]

Microsoft always releases heavy, non-compliant browsers that all webmasters around the world simply hate, and believe me, many of those webmasters don't even bother to test their websites on IE.
IE8 seems to be Microsoft's best try in terms of performance but it is way behind Firefox or Google Chrome, the latest being a good choice due to its high performance.

[Tridene Solutions]

Originally Posted by riskbase

Microsoft always releases heavy, non-compliant browsers that all webmasters around the world simply hate, and believe me, many of those webmasters don't even bother to test their websites on IE.

Not sure I completely agree with most users being on PC's and most corporate networks only running internet explorer. I've never had a problem with non-compliance in IE. I've always found Firefox to be a bit clunky in terms of its user interface although performance is good. Chrome is good too, but the majority of my customers have always (rightly or wrongly) stuck with IE.

It's all well and good hating IE if you're a webmaster, but that's no excuse for just ignoring it in the testing stages of a website's development. No matter what your personal opinion of IE is, you have to cater for the users first and foremost.

I think it's just another case of developers thinking that they are the boss. The customer is always the boss, and it's down to the developers to ensure compatibilty with IE rather than dictate their own terms on how you should access the site. Could you imagine if eBay or Amazon turned around and said "You can only access our site using Safari". They'd go bust overnight.

Just because the webmaster is technically correct in knowing that firefox or chrome is "better" than IE, doesn't mean they're "right". Not in terms of the user's preferences.

Also, IE 8 is the best version of IE yet so you may as well install it!

Just my opinion by the way, so no offence intended to anyone, just trying to explain how my customers would see it.

Thanks,

Rich

[Ray Stewart]

I have installed it, and to be honest, not noticed any differences whatsoever in my internet browsing experiences.

Is this down to me being a computer simpleton, not noticing the subtle differences in display and/or performance, or just the fact that it simply works as it should?

But then...so does Firefox on my system (as far as I can tell!).

So...I can't really see what all the fuss is about

[Paul Norman]

Use IE8 if you wish - it is fairly neutral! If you want to get techy, it is still less robust than IE7, and a tiny bit more standards compliant.

You wont notice these issues in ordinary use, most probably.

Firefox is still preferable from a technical point of view. But do not cross the road to change!