dailyApps

This had to be the funniest thing to happen today for Microsoft. The newly released IE8 Beta 1 blocks access to Windows Update if you prefer to run it from the browser. If you visit the Windows Update site from IE8 this is what you get..

Thank you for your interest in obtaining updates from our site.

To use this site, you must be running Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or later.

To upgrade to the latest version of the browser, go to the Internet Explorer Downloads website.

If you prefer to use a different web browser, you can obtain updates from the Microsoft Download Center or you can stay up to date with the latest critical and security updates by using Automatic Updates. To turn on Automatic Updates:

1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then click Security.
2. Click Security Center, and then make sure Automatic updating is turned on.

To enhance the security and performance of your computer, make sure Windows automatic updating is not turned off.

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I’m pretty sure you have all heard about Internet Explorer 8 either here or elsewhere. The 1st Beta of IE8 was released to public today and I quickly downloaded and I’ve been playing with it the whole day long. Being a long time Firefox browser, it was like ages since I used Internet Explorer. I’ve been a Firefox fan since the 1.2 days. So coming back to IE8 after such a long time was an experience in itself for me. Anyway’s I’d better cut the crap and focus on the issue.

I installed it on Vista and the Installation went on without any problems. But one thing I don’t understand is the amount of time it took to Install IE8 on my PC. It hardly takes a couple of minutes for Firefox or Opera to install but it took over 15 minutes for IE8 to install complete with a system restart. Surely Microsoft you don’t need to be treating your users like this right?

Installation woes apart, the first time I started IE8 I was greeted with a pleasing welcome page, but it was hardly effective in convincing me to use IE8. Microsoft needs to work on improving its welcome page though (you can access it here). The page is pretty thin in content and there is hardly any compelling reason to make me feel like switching. But let me also add here, that IE8 while being in beta is the fastest Internet Explorer I’ve used all my life.

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