Software > Web Browsers & ToolsEssentials

Microsoft Thursday said it would issue a release candidate (RC) for Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) in the first three months of 2009, indicating it will ship its newest browser sometime in the first half of the year.

The market share of Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) dropped under the 70 percent mark last month for the first time since Web metrics vendor Net Applications started keeping tabs on browsers, the company said Monday.

ExitReality, the world's first 3D web browser, was launched this week.

People who download Sun's Java Runtime Environment will be offered the MSN Toolbar as well, through a search distribution deal Microsoft has struck with Sun, the companies will announce Monday.

Opera has added support for widgets to the latest beta release of its Mobile 9.5 browser. The release marks the second Opera Mobile 9.5 beta for Windows Mobile and the first-ever beta for UIQ-based phones, it announced on Monday.

Adobe Systems is shipping its Adobe Flash Player 10 software this week, featuring built-in 3D capabilities as well as the ability for developers to add their own special effects.

They're back! Just when you thought the "browser wars" were over, with the two camps -- Microsoft and Mozilla.org -- settling in for a kind of intransigent détente, along comes Google to stir things up all over again. Clearly Google is unhappy with the current state of browser geopolitics and feels it needs to roll its own in order to ensure a robust base for its myriad hosted applications (e.g. Gmail, Google Docs, etc.)

Browser makers Microsoft, Mozilla and Opera Software yesterday reacted to news that Google is introducing a browser of its own, saying that they welcome the competition and are not afraid of the search giant's move.

Those who expect Internet Explorer 8 to be a warmed-over version of IE7 or a me-too response to Firefox 3 will be surprised by the just-released Beta 2 of IE8. It offers a well-thought-out set of features that makes Web browsing faster and more intuitive, including more intelligent tabs, a much improved Address Bar, and new tools designed to deliver information from other Web pages and services.

A privacy feature built into the second beta version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 browser aren't as private as advertised.

Microsoft's latest version of Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) requires more than double the system memory of its main rival, Mozilla's Firefox, and spawns nearly six times the number of processor threads, a performance researcher said yesterday.

Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) Beta 1 for developers, released by Microsoft on March 6, offers some fascinating new capabilities. For example, it introduces two new features called Activities and WebSlices that extend the capabilities of the browser by interacting with other Web sites and services.

So it's Friday afternoon, the weekend is just around the corner, and you're up to no good. Rather than waste your time turning monitors upside down around the office, why not update your tech arsenal? If you have a computer or cell phone on hand, you're more than ready to beef up your weapons and spy kit with these 12 sly tricks. We'll teach you why and how (and with what) to do them, and tell you how well you can expect them to work. And you will forget where you heard this information...

Microsoft on Monday described some new privacy features that will come with IE8, the next release of its browser. The features are designed to make it easier for people to delete and control information about their Web browsing history.

Microsoft's Security Vulnerability Research & Defense team (SVRD) have recently posted information online about the Cross Site Scripting (XSS) filter to be incorporated into Internet Explorer 8 when it is released.

Mozilla's Firefox fell short of breaking the 20 per cent market share bar in July, a Web metrics firm said Tuesday, as the open-source browser's growth slowed dramatically.

Opera Software on Friday released a development build of its Opera browser to the public to prove that it has code that scores 100 out of a possible 100 on the Acid3 Web standards test.

Apple released Safari 3.1 this week with an updated rendering engine that makes the fastest Internet browser even faster.