News19,135 Articles

June 12, 2008

Next Internet Explorer 8 beta targets IT pros

New features designed for network managers

Nancy Gohring


Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) will add features that will make deploying and managing the browser easier for IT professionals, according to Microsoft.

The second beta version of IE8, expected in August, will have new capabilities for IT staff, including an easier way to deploy the browser with Vista. IT staff will be able to add IE8 to a Vista image more quickly in order to deploy the two products out to many users. Currently, IT professionals have to go through a process that can take two hours to deploy IE7 along with a Windows XP image, Microsoft said.

The new capability comes after consistent feedback from users that deploying IE7 as part of Windows XP is difficult, Microsoft said in a blog post.

Internet Explorer 8.0 beta: first review

Developers told to plan now for Internet Explorer 8

Microsoft is also adding new tools aimed at making it easier for business IT staff to manage website compatibility issues with IE8. IT staff will find new events in the Application Compatibility Toolkit that detect and resolve potential issues between IE8 and internal applications and websites. ACT is a tool that can be used to test applications and internal websites for compatibility with IE and Windows Vista.

The new browser beta will also get an updated version of Internet Explorer Administration Kit, the tool that lets IT professionals customise IE. The new version includes some bug fixes and will support custom IE8 builds for the newest releases of Vista and Windows Server 2008.

Microsoft released the first beta for IE8 in March and only recently announced that the second version would come out in August. With IE8, Microsoft is hoping to get itself out of a jam that became glaringly apparent in IE7. With that release Microsoft attempted to improve its support for web standards, but in doing so caused some websites - those designed to display well in Microsoft's older, less standards-compliant browsers - to work poorly. Microsoft has said that with IE8 it hopes to support web standards as well as sites designed for older versions of the browser.

<<newer story | back to index | older story>>

What is this?

Subscribe to PC Advisor now and claim your FREE gift

Keep up to date by adding PC Advisor News to your iGoogle home page or Google Reader


Question of the day!

Does your smartphone replace your need for a laptop when on the move?

Question of the day!

Does your smartphone replace your need for a laptop when on the move?

% of PC Advisor readers agree with you

Yes
TBC
No
TBC

Which parts of the desktop PC/laptop experience can't you get on your smartphone?

119 characters remaining

Follow the conversation at @SmartphoneFocus

web browsing, search facilities, voip, email, word processing everything RT @Graham_D_C

Mainly email but getting better at spreadsheets etc, RT @IDGdan
Google


Recent reviews

Reviews index


Latest reader comments

Latest reader comments


Top news

News index


Latest blog entries

Blogs index


 Our RSS feeds

Sponsored Content

  • Take the internet to new places with the Nokia N800
    Communicate how you want to, where you want to with instant messaging, email and internet calling. View movies, browse the internet wirelessly and watch TV on the high-resolution screen and listen through high-quality stereo speakers with headphone jack.
    Buy now