EBlog

The importance of Internet Explorer 8

March 5, 2008 | Posted by: Marty

Microsoft just announced that the next version of Internet Explorer (IE8) will support web standards out of the box.

Not only does IE8 include a myrad of fixes and technical concessions, it now embraces technologies such as microformats, OpenID, and Data Portability.

With this announcement and impending release of this browser we are going to be entering a exciting age of web development. Microsoft's standards-based focus brings the weight of the most used browser in the world to the forefront by embracing all sorts of open and emerging technology. Instead of keeping the world locked out and forcing its own proprietary standards (a complete 180 degree switch from the most dominant browser in the world, Internet Explorer 6) IE8 will embrace and thrive on openness and wisdom of the w3c and the web standards project.

Microsoft is following the lead of Firefox, Safari, and Opera in catering to the standards. They got closer to the mark with IE7, but it still maintained some of IE6's quirks and proprietary modes. IE8 brings Microsoft's browser up to par with the most standards compliant of today.

Why is this important? Soon we will be able to minimize complete support for IE6 - the older, less-capable Microsoft browser (it was released 7 years ago!)  Leaving IE6 behind lets us focus on using modern technology and techniques to create captivating and engaging sites.  Developers will not have to worry about how you view a site - what works on one browser works on all. We will have a larger toolset at our disposal without being hamstrung with incompatibility.  In the end, supporting standards leads to more innovation and faster glitch-free development.

Having access to microformats, selector syntax, better javascript compatibility, and other improvements across the board in *all* browsers are leading to exciting times for developers in the next few years. As we leave the old versions of browsers behind, we will see brand new experiences on the web every day. Its going to be a fun time in the development circle.

Inspired? Want to try it? The IE8 beta is here: (XP | Vista) (or.. just get Firefox, which has been standard-compliant from day one.)