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No reason to rush your upgrade to IE 8
![Mark Joseph Edwards]( "Mark Joseph Edwards") By Mark Joseph Edwards
Microsoft touts Internet Explorer 8 as a big improvement over previous versions of the browser in terms of security, speed, and compatibility.
While that's basically true, the inevitable new-release glitches — which are already appearing — suggest you should wait at least a month before upgrading.
When you choose a browser, your first consideration should be security. There's no doubt that Internet Explorer is the target of more malware than any other piece of software. In fact, using IE is like painting a bull's-eye on your forehead and walking into a war zone.
Even though IE 8 adds some useful security features, its continued reliance on ActiveX makes the browser vulnerable in its very foundation. This lack of security is a primary reason many people have stopped using IE.
Security isn't the only factor causing Web denizens to flock to alternative browsers. For years, Internet Explorer's page rendering has caused major headaches for Web developers and users alike. Some pages that look and function as designers intended in Firefox, Opera, and other third-party browsers have their layouts broken when rendered by Internet Explorer.
IE 8 makes an effort to improve compatibility but ultimately falls short.
Performance is another area where IE has trailed the competition. Just as IE 7 runs faster than IE 6, the new version 8 is quicker than its predecessor. However, early tests indicate that IE 8 is still much slower than other browsers.
Compatibility improvements aid users and coders
IE 7 often jumbles the layout of sites that open and operate just fine in Firefox, Google Chrome, and other browsers. Web designers will be heartened to hear that IE 8 addresses many of these page-rendering deficiencies — and it's about time!
Constructing sites that work well in all browsers is definitely going to be much easier. Likewise, people who surf the Web will be less likely to encounter sites whose layouts are broken in IE 8. Without getting into the nitty-gritty, let me just say that IE 8 passes the Web Standards Project's Acid2 compliance test, as explained by the IEBlog.
Taking compatibility a step further, IE 8 includes a "compatibility view mode" that reverts to IE 7's rendering engine. You can toggle this mode on or off using a button near the search bar at the top of the browser.
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no rush to upgrade to IE 8
