Microsoft’s Latest: IE 8 & Vista SP1

Microsoft has been very busy with the software updates lately which to me is somewhat surprising. From what I’ve seen in the past when there’s a big OS launch in the works like Server 2008 they have a tendency to fall behind on their other promises.

Internet Explorer 8 although still in beta was a big surprise, businesses and end users are always going to be slow to adapt so for me it still feels like IE 7 was just released. The new Internet Explorer offers a refreshing set of features such as social community integration but more importantly Microsoft has worked hard on improving standards compliance. With the work being put into the new browser one thing is certain – Microsoft is not taking Firefox’s move into browser market share lightly.

For fans of Facebook, Live Maps, and eBay the new Flock-like ‘WebSlices’ feature will definitely make the browser more user friendly, but the attention to standards compliance is what has many of the developers buzzing. IE8 being able to pass the Acid2 test without issue marks a big milestone for the browser. Microsoft is also promising better AJAX compatibility with new features like the ability to use the browser buttons with the application, for an example: You could zoom in/out with the back and forward buttons.

Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista was officially released to the masses yesterday. Naturally, the highly anticipated service pack is mostly composed of performance tweaks and bug fixes but the sheer volume of changes as outlined in the release notes is impressive. After just one day of SP1 being available for download sources like Engadget are reporting various driver problems and software incompatibilities, then again is that really news when it comes to Vista? Personally, I installed SP1 onto my notebook last night without any issues but Microsoft reports that it’s still working on “problematic drivers”.

Will Internet Explorer 8 be the next best browser? Could Service Pack 1 become the end-all for Vista distress? I’m doubting it, but only time will tell.