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May 3, 2007 3:21 PM PDT
Microsoft hints at general plan for IE 8
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At Microsoft's Mix '07 conference in Las Vegas this week, IE platform architect Chris Wilson recapped Microsoft's development priorities in the making of Internet Explorer (IE) 7 and outlined some of its goals for the next version of its browser.
Wilson said Microsoft intends to create a follow-on version, IE 8, within two years of IE 7's release, which came out in October.
The priorities Microsoft set for IE 7, Wilson said, are the same for IE 8: strong security, ease of use and Web development improvements.
"It's clear we have a lot to do with the Web developer platform," he said addressing an audience of mostly Web developers at Mix.
Specifically, he said Microsoft will invest more in layout and adhering to the Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) 2.1 specifications. He also said Microsoft wants to make its browser object model more interoperable "to make it easier to work with other browsers and allow more flexible programming patterns."
In addition, he said the Ajax Web programming style needs more client-side application programming interfaces to allow developers to create more powerful applications.
"There's work in the standardization bodies to do local storage and get better security models," Wilson said, adding that Microsoft is working with the W3C on standardizing HTML version 5 and XHTML version 1 and 1.1.
He said adherence to standards is increasingly important to Web site developers but Microsoft is in a "challenging" position as it introduces more standards compliance.
Because previous versions of Internet Explorer strayed from standards, new versions of Internet Explorer, such as IE 7, have caused some Web sites to not work for end users, he said.
"Web development compatibility is really crucial for building applications and...for us to deploy browsers (but) it has to be an evolutionary step," he said, noting that half a billion people use some version of Internet Explorer. "If we say, 'Here is your new browser--it's standards compatible,' we actually disrupt the existing ecosystem and it doesn't actually make it better for anyone."
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Web development, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Internet Explorer 7, ease of use, standards
36 comments
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I think you have "Power User" problems. When I turn off MS security it never comes back on unless I reinstall Windows or turn it back on my self.
Free AVG if you have to use anything.
You talk like you're a computer talented user, but I strongly advise you to revise that if you don't know how to prevent settings from changing every time you apply an update or install a program.
Ignorance is here and lives in CNET Talkback section.
You talk like you're a computer talented user, but I strongly advise you to revise that if you don't know how to prevent settings from changing every time you apply an update or install a program.
Ignorance is here and lives in CNET Talkback section.
itself that holds sway on how people use the modern computer and
internet. Scary isn't it.
properly, expecially if you were using CSS. What a disaster! I am
currently building a web site that has a single line of text in a
<div> after the main <div> for the page. On all browsers, both
Mac and Windows (IE 6 included) it draws in the correct place. In IE
& it draws 100 px higher, apparently inside properly colsed <div>s
above it. So IE7 appears to be even worse than IE6.
IE 8 will be more compliant and standards supportive? I doubt it!
know that these messages treated markup as markup. there you
go!
I can't wait!
They need to give us 18 months notice so we can back up everything and make several copies of our registry. Finally they are being proactive and telling us the crap is coming. (sure we assume everything they release is crap but it's nice that THEY think so too)
They need to give us 18 months notice so we can back up everything and make several copies of our registry. Finally they are being proactive and telling us the crap is coming. (sure we assume everything they release is crap but it's nice that THEY think so too)
assuming that the next release of Safari will support Gmail's Java
standards, that is.) Anyone know when the next Firefox is
dropping? That's supposed to be when the browser supports the
rest of the standards.
Ha ha ha! Nice one! Haven't we heard this with every release of anything Microsoft?? Don't get me wrong, I'll do my part and install IE8 and patch it every week and report bug crashed daily to them, but isn't it time to admit "We're releasing something so be prepared to patch it every week for a few months"
Be straight with the users and I think you'll find them more recptive to you.
Well I guess you will not take notice, because you never take notice.
just did the right thing it wouldn't be better? People wouldn't all fix
their web sites immediately to work with a compliant IE v8?????
It <i>might</i> rely on XP SP3, but since that is nothing but all the hotfixes released so far, there shouldn't be any compatability problems holding you back from Sp3 if your computer is up to date anyway.
But since XP is still in its support years (it was extended to two years after Vista's release) it should fall in that period.
Yep. And the sun will rise in the west tomorrow morning.
They no longer have a Java license due to this...
Wonder what "features" will appear in IE8 that will enhance usability beyond the standards they are complying with. The obvious one of supporting the non-standard code of earlier versions of course. Backward compatibility is extremely important in ensuring that webpages do not function correctly in competitive browsers :P
Standards? MS still thinks the can make up their own standards
and ignore all the world as they become more irrelevant.
I have installed exactly two "updates:" One to fix a bug in the way NTFS is handled (which has had a "hotfix" out since the original XP, but has never been fixed in a service pack), and I can't remember at the moment what the second one was for. I have dependable hardware and software security and have disabled a number of unnecessary and dangerous Microsoft "services" and ports. I have yet to have a virus or rootkit, and I no longer even get spam or adware/spyware on my PC. Unless I run into another bug MS never fixed, I have no intention of applying any more updates - every thing is fine just the way it is. I don't plan on jumping on MS's "constant critical update" merry-go-round. I say "the Emperor has no clothes." Of course I don't do stupid stuff like open email attachments (I ask for cut and paste) or surf to seamy websites, and my anti-virus scans webpages before delivering them to me. But I'm happy with what I have at the moment and for as long as it works for me. When it no longer serves my needs, I'll cross that bridge - but it will NOT be VISTA! MS has some very scary plans of which VISTA is only the first step. If people are gullible enough to fall for it, in the future, you may PAY for your PC, but MS will CONTROL it! (Google Palladium, Longhorn, Fritz-Chip, Trusted Computing, etc. and follow where they lead - Microsoft if trying very hard to misdirect your attention so you don't notice that Palladium is baaack! Only this time they have formed themselves a cartel/consortium with Intel, HP, IBM - so they won't have a replay of the user uproar of 2003 when they were all by their lonesome and had to back down. This time MS is confident they have safety in numbers, but they still aren't breathing a word about what's really under the hood.