Internet Explorer 8 Release Candidate 1
Microsoft released its first release candidate for the Internet Explorer 8 this Monday. You may have received a notification had you installed IE8 Beta 2 on your PC. Others can download it from the official IE8 Beta page if interested. While this version is not the final release, a release candidate is considered to be a feature-complete version with a potential to be the final release unless any critical bugs are identified.
On Windows XP, the installation needs two reboots – one after uninstalling IE8 Beta 2 and another after installing IE8 RC1. On Windows Vista, a single reboot after the installation will suffice. On Windows 7, this is not expected to work at all. (Windows 7 already comes preinstalled with an IE8 beta version.) Read the complete installation instructions here.
I installed the software on both my desktop and laptop, both currently running on Windows XP, and my biggest complaint is that after the first reboot (uninstalling IE8 Beta 2), when the installation of IE8 RC1 step ends, the second reboot takes place without a prompt. It is bad that a reboot is required in the first place. Any other work you may be doing in the meantime (because installation takes a few minutes) could be lost. Keep that in mind if you are trying to install it.
Another age-old issue is that IE automatically sets itself as the default browser though it is not much of a problem. That said, I welcome Microsoft’s new generosity to allow custom non-Microsoft search engines and accelerators to be set in the user preferences.
IE8 RC1 appears to be running faster than IE8 Beta 2, which itself has considerably improved over IE7. The software has been made more secure and Microsoft seems to be taking pains to be more compliant to the global web standards. The latest version is definitely a big step in the right direction for the future of the Internet Explorer.
Image Source: Internet Explorer.
