IE8 goes RC1

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 27 January 2009 06:51

IT Industry - Development

Also new are accelerators - a feature that makes it easier to perform a range on online tasks such as getting a map of an address on a web page, or translating text into a different language.

And there have been "many" (unspecified) issues discovered in the beta process that were addressed before the release candidate was offered to users.

IE8 RC1 can be used with Windows XP, Vista and Server. An updated version of the browser for Windows 7 will be released with the next update in that operating system's beta program.

The RC1 installer automatically removes any earlier version of IE8, making the process simpler than it was during the beta phase. There's still a problem if you installed Windows XP SP3 after an IE8 beta - Microsoft recommends you uninstall SP3, uninstall IE8 beta, than reinstall SP3 and finally install IE8 RC1.

RC1 arrived with time to spare given that Microsoft only told us to expect it in the first quarter of 2009 - but there are no fresh hints concerning the delivery of the finished browser.

"Our next step, after listening to feedback from the final testing feedback from the community, is releasing the final product," said Hachamovitch.

"Looking at the telemetry data and usability tests and feedback from real users, we’re excited about the positive impact that this release of IE will have."

You can download IE8 RC1 here.