Microsoft has successfully passed an important milestone in the development of Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) on the 14th of December 2007: the 'acid2 test' meaning that the browser has correctly rendered the acid2 face, a good indication of the browser being standards compliant. Microsoft now plans to have a beta version of the software released during the first half of 2008. There is however, speculation that the browser will be published as part of an update just like IE7 or as part of the first service pack for Windows Vista during 2008.
Microsoft claims that the introduction of IE8 "hopes to bring a far greater experience of the web to the user with better compatibility, rapid speeds and most importantly enhanced security". Being a web designer myself I am intrigued to see the new interface of IE8. An insight into how the new browser may look can be found on the web at Tech Today (Note: Bar Squared are not responsible for the content of other websites).
Unlike the huge leap from IE6 to IE7, which came with many compatibility issues and caused many websites and online applications to collapse, Microsoft plan to ensure their latest browser will be backward compatible - something of high importance to developers as more often than not, they are required to code the same site multiple times to support different browsers.
Rest assured however, our team of developers shall be up to speed with advances in Microsoft's software and will keep our customers fully informed on its progress and our software's compatibility.
During the third quarter of 2008 Bar Squared plan to support more than just Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Soon you'll be able to access our applications through other web browsers such as Firefox and Safari (Mac Version).