New Internet Explorer Hits Stumbling Blocks

[The_root_of_all_evil]

New Internet Explorer Hits Stumbling Blocks

Problems in the latest version of Internet Explorer have sent users running back to downgrade to IE7.

IE8 promised many things - increased speed, security and ease of use - in order to try and win back some of Microsoft's browser market share after many users transferred to Firefox and other browsers.

According to Information Week [http://www.informationweek.com/news/internet/browsers/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=216200082] though, the launch has already seen hardcore fans rush back to IE7 after numerous problems developed in less than a week. Complaints included long boot times, issues printing from websites, search malfunctions and image problems. There's also the fact that 4 gigabytes of disk space is an awful lot for a browser.

Within one day the following appeared:

"I have just installed IE8 and still the search option doesn't work. All I get is a blank line with no search box so what and where is the problem?"

A lot of these problems come directly from Microsoft's new publishing standards (the way that web pages appear) with some users reporting that as the web is mostly built on other packages, IE8's interpretation of the web looks off-kilter at times. Embarrassingly, even MS Publisher failed to render properly in the new browser.

At release 2.59% of the total browser market share had switched to the free IE8, but by Monday, this number had already fallen to 1.86%.

Even though Microsoft currently holds two-thirds of the browser market, IE's market share is 24% off its peak - with 22% having switched to its biggest new threat, Mozilla's Firefox.

Source: Monsters and Critics [http://www.monstersandcritics.com/tech/news/article_1466378.php/Microsofts_Internet_Explorer_8_hits_snags_]

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[Krakyn]

Didn't these idiots learn their lesson with Windows Vista, or even their first generation Xbox 360s that have, what is it, a 50% death rate in the first three years? You can't rush this crap out the door. Make it work correctly first, THEN give it to us.

Also, Firefox ftw.

 

[Clamburger]

It does seem very representative of the whole 'downgrade to XP' saga when Vista was first released. Maybe they should stick with beta testing and just release a finish product in Windows 7. That should give them some time to get their crap together and release something that half the people using won't immediately delete.

 

[sunami88]

I've used it (I need to use IE to admin my router, dont know why, just nothing else seems to work right*), and I've gotta say I can't see why it was released. It starts up a little faster, and I did do some light browsing of the web, and all I noticed was that it rendered websites dog slow.

[rant on]

I don't see why it even still exists this day and age. What with Chrome/Firefox/Opera, seems almost all the bases are covered (speed, customization, and... well OK I don't use Opera, but they're a huge competitor with Mozilla, and competition is always good), where does IE fit into any of this? It's nice for MS to be able to bundle their own browser with their OS (kind of like Konqueror), but all anyone I know uses it for is downloading Firefox.

[/rant off]

tl;dr version: I don't like it very much.

Spoiler: *

Something about dd-wrt using some new-ish web 2.0 features, although I haven't really investigated further than "oh, this button doesn't work".

 

[fix-the-spade]

Wondering out loud here.

How do you make a web browser 4 GIGABYTES?

My Firefox folder is 25MB, with a fair number of add ons in their. Do the other browser piggyback stuff off Microsoft's operating system or is it just a case of M.Softs traditional programming efficiency?

 

[LoopyDood]

Wow. Is anybody really surprised?

 

[Lord_Ascendant]

its like someone stands over these programmers and whips them to get it done faster and faster so what comes out is pure dribble with a colorful layout.

 

[TheBluesader]

Wow. Is anybody really surprised?

No. No we're not.

I realized how total the worldwide rejection of IE was when I was watching America's Most Wanted, and when they showed a picture of their website on TV, it was in a Firefox browser window.

I also use Google Chrome on occasion, though it also tends to have severe loading times and regularly freezes up and won't close. But my computer sucks, so...

 

[InventiveHero]

I can hardly wait for the 25 GB patch to fix this up!

I kinda like the old Internet Explorer, because it reminds me of the Millennium Falcon: A busted up hunk of junk that everyone laughs at, but every once in a while - when you hit it with a wrench - it can jump to hyperspace.

 

[Abedeus]

4GB... Are they stupid, or high? Or maybe both?

Why the hell would I want a browser like that, when I can get my Firefox Portable?!

 

[sneakypenguin]

Wow. Is anybody really surprised?

No. No we're not.

I realized how total the worldwide rejection of IE was when I was watching America's Most Wanted, and when they showed a picture of their website on TV, it was in a Firefox browser window.

I also use Google Chrome on occasion, though it also tends to have severe loading times and regularly freezes up and won't close. But my computer sucks, so...

I use chrome as for me it starts up alot faster than FF. Plus I love having google search integrated in everything. Opera is also really good and pretty light on ram.

 

[sunami88]

4GB... Are they stupid, or high?

Yes.

 

[thenumberthirteen]

I tried the new IE beta for multi-browser tests on my website (which few people seem to do). I used it for 5 min, it crashed, and I went back to Chrome (I like the uncluttered interface Okay).

 

[macthorpe]

I'm shocked that a program like IE could be so large though.

I'm shocked too, seeing as it's a 13MB download... where did the 4GB figure come from, because it's not in the IW article?

 

[Anton P. Nym]

Forgive me for appearing clueless, but I've run into exactly none of the problems cited. I was running the beta on my (900MHz Celeron, 1GB RAM, 800x480 WVGA, 40GB HD) laptop and saw better performance on it than I saw with IE7. (I'll admit that I didn't check the disc space it used, but the download was much shorter than a 4 gig and I think I'd notice that much space vanishing on such a tiny hard drive.) Now that I've upgraded it to the final release, I see a small improvement.

There is also a "compatibility button" you can click if the web page looks strange, which reverts it to an IE7ish interpretation. I used it a lot in the beta, sadly, but I haven't had to use it yet since upgrading.

I have no complaints.

-- Steve

 

[Frank_Sinatra_]

This is exactly why I use Safari.

 

[Nimbus]

Opera is better than both.
I'm amazed anyone still uses IE. I seriously thought Microsoft would've given up.

Wooh! Another Opera fan! It's good to see other people use it too.