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Review of MS Internet Explorer 8
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Review of MS Internet Explorer 8
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Download from: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/default.aspxCurrent Version: 8.0.6001.18702
Microsoft Internet Explorer was the last with Tabbed Browsing (you can open
multiple websites in multiple Tabs, like Tabbed Excel Worksheets). In terms of
looks too, Internet Explorer looks long in the tooth, obviously due to
over-exposure. Despite many bug-fixes, Internet Explorer continues to show up security loopholes at regular intervals. Therefore if you use Internet Explorer, you MUST install an Antivirus and AntiSpyware like Norton 360 or Norton Internet Security, as they protect you against Browser Hijacking (your Start Page is changed without your knowledge), Phishing (sites claiming to be what they aren't - example a Yahoo-like site that tries to make you think it IS the familiar Yahoo site!) and stealthy, no-good Browser Help Objects (BHOs) that spy on your surfing habits/ steal your private information! True, Internet Explorer hasn't changed looks in donkey's years, is subject to constant security breaches, is a huge download, is complex and takes forever to load, is a nightmare for Web Designers due to its own manner of rendering Web pages... But, it is one Browser that you cannot avoid in the short or medium term. This is because it is given away free with every Computer that has Windows pre-installed on it. Again, it gets installed free onto a Computer whenever Windows is installed on it. This, coupled with the fact that it is much older than Firefox, is why Internet Explorer has the largest Installed Base amongst Browsers. This is also why Internet Explorer still has the largest Market Share, though it has lost share in plenty to Firefox and others, in recent times.
If you are satisfied with Internet Explorer, maybe you have not seriously considered other Browsers. We urge you to look at other Browsers! Check out the ten other Browsers we have analyzed - and one that is now discontinued - for, you could very easily like one of those a lot more than Internet Explorer! Over the years, Internet Explorer has added a number of features - almost all of them AFTER they appeared in competing Browsers. Thus, the Tabbed interface that let you open multiple web pages was first seen in Firefox and much later incorporated into Internet Explorer. The ability to 'record' and 'save' login information of the sites you visit is yet another feature Internet Explorer began providing, long after Firefox. Here is the link that tracks Browser usage and publishes Browser Statistics: http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp |
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Despite these 'faults', our advise to members is not to ignore (at least for the next five years or so) Internet Explorer. One of our Banks does not let us log into our account, unless we use Internet Explorer! Again, once, we had to pay twice to download a song we desperately wanted to listen to: using Firefox, we were able to pay for the song, but were unable to download it! Therefore we had to pay again using Internet Explorer, which then allowed us to download the song! Finally, if you have a website or blogsite, today, the largest chunk of your visitors would be using various versions of Internet Explorer. Therefore, you MUST design your website or blogsite, so that it displays as perfectly, in Internet Explorer! Microsoft Internet Explorer has been around for a long, long time. Though it has been stirred and shaken by the rising popularity of Firefox, it has tenaciously clung to the top position in terms of market share. We know how this has been achieved (by bundling Internet Explorer with new Computers!), but then, perhaps ends justify means! Today, Internet Explorer has all the features that Firefox or even the much-hyped-but-tepid Chrome have on offer!
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