RSSInternet Explorer 8 Beta 2 now slated for August
By Scott M. Fulton, III | Published June 3, 2008, 3:36 PM
Citing heavy customer feedback, Microsoft officials as high up as Bill Gates himself revealed today that the next public beta of IE8 won't be going home with Tech·Ed attendees this year.
Though the beta roadmap for Microsoft's next release of Internet Explorer has never been quite clear, one of the key "takeaways" from Bill Gates' keynote address at Tech·Ed 2008 in Orlando this morning -- other than this week's pending release of Silverlight 2.0 Beta 2 -- is the fact that testers and developers won't get a chance to see the next public beta of IE8 until late this summer, at the earliest.
The official verification of this news came on the IE developers' blog this morning, using the euphemistic language Microsoft has historically reserved for delaying a product or beta launch...or conveying any other sort of bad news.
"In addition to the features for developers we showed in IE8 Beta 1, we've been working on great new features for consumers and IT professionals (as well as doing even more cool stuff for developers)," writes Group Program Manager Tony Chor this morning. "I'm happy to announce that we're on track to deliver IE8 Beta 2 this August when you'll get a chance to see what we've been up to in these areas."
Once again, heavy customer feedback was cited as a key reason for the long wait time, though the company was careful to blame the public directly. "We've learned a lot from this first beta - keep the comments coming please!" stated Chor.
There are now two preparatory Web sites for building anticipation around IE8, the newest being a heavily revised Internet Explorer Developer Center on MSDN. This comes in addition to the marketing Web site for users, which continues today to show pictures of IE8 Beta 1.
No other browser can compete with ff, esp 3.0. Microsoft as we all know does the copy machine effect, and poorly at that. If anything it is the third party extensions that make ff what it is. Take that away and what you have is opera or a better performing ie7.
As for IE8, it will help the internet a lot to have such a more standards based browser. It takes a lot of work to fix such a mess. Hopefully they fix a lot of mistakes and keep it up.
Thank you FF! Without that we would still be using ie6! You know its true!
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|As people have stated before me...they're waiting to see what they can copy from Firefox 3...
IE will never be the preferred browser for developers, not anymore, nomatter how much they copy Mozilla's work, they'll screw it up by trying to make it their own...like how they've copied dozens of OS ideas from Apple...and replicate them horribly.
Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to seeing how the final product turns out, and will test this beta the day it comes out.
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|Well can't help it that pple and companies and software makers copy from eachother but without that they won't be so good with their products..
Microsoft is alwasy the slowest on their releases, will se who copyd who if they manege to make winmin7 the best of the best OS
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|Whenever IE is mentioned the loonies are released from the asylum and allowed to make silly posts. Why are the forum moderators not deleting them, that would be the comments not the idiots who make them.
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|"Aaaaaah, let's just wait and see how Firefox does, and then let's copy as much as possible...."
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|Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh! suck my d***
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|Aaaaargh! I'm not a homosexual, besides it's too hard to reach that tiny pencil.
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|Yup, you're a tard. Damn mouth-breathers are everywhere, I swear!
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|C'mon now, he's still workin' with Color By Numbers. He made a purple elephant the other day, and it's on my fridge. Darn near flawless! I'm still trying to get the little guy to stay within the lines, though.
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|There's an awful lot of aaaaaah's going on there. :~
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|Great comment a..hole. I can see you are an advanced user of invective.
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|YAHH TRICK YAHH!
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|For anyone who hasn't realised, it's now MSFT's trend to blah crap always citing the exact phrase "customer feedback" to look closer to people i could say, and clean it's 'evilized' image.
They're trying to be seen as if they have that close and warm relation with people, more like the open source world inspires to romantic eyes.
-.- c'mon boys... try something not ridiculous...
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|Yeah this is standard marketing speak.
There isn't a decision Microsoft makes for its customers unless it returns shareholder value/gives them marketshare... Then again this is a public company and they are chartered to do this...
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|Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 now slated for August
As opposed to.... Did MSFT ever even hint at a release date for Beta 2?
Nope. Pure speculation. Of course, you're more than willing to hold MSFT to that speculation. Imagine my shock...
Once again, heavy customer feedback was cited as a key reason for the long wait time, though the company was careful to blame the public directly.
Blame the public?
For what??
Right, your imagined "delay"...
Scott, the only one mentioning or implying any kind of "delay" here that would allow for blame is...you.
Only you and the trolls could imagine some pretend release schedule...and then blame MSFT for not sticking to it.
Speculating is fine, even reporting on the speculation of others. But then taking that speculation and trying to use it to imply some fault on the part of MSFT is bald-faced sensationalism at best.
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|I admit to the "bald" part. But if I wanted to be in a sensationalist business, there are plenty of other opportunities besides writing about software.
In other words, if it walks like a delay and talks like a delay and everybody who looks at it says, "Aw, too bad about the delay..." it's a delay. No sensation about it.
-SF3
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|What delay buddy?
MS never, ever, said anything about release date for beta 2 except "later this year, most likely" (I think somebody from MS said it during MIX08, and that was in March).
EDIT:
Eweek/Microsoft-watch:
"News Brief. Microsoft plans to release Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 about two months sooner than expected."
http://www.microsoft-wat...n_ie_8_public_beta.html
LOL
See, this is what happens when people are just guessing - since no official date was ever released for beta 2. Those guys think it is coming earlier than expected :)
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|*laughing*
That only works for ducks. I notice you didn't once mention things like facts concerning "your business".
You know, those things that most journalists, at least the good ones, depend on and provide?
It's nice you think of it as a delay. It's nice that other shoddy journalists push rumors as fact and assume there is some kind of a delay to their imaginary schedule.
It's nice you don't let the *FACT* that no release schedule has *EVER* been announced get in the way of your reporting.
If it walks like a delay, talks like a delay, but no release schedule has ever been announced, it's nothing but BS. :)
..and you're reporting it and defending it.
I wish you'd stick to the technical articles; Hardware stuff. Detailed, nearly mathematical in their precision... It's where you shine, and you do, make no mistake. It doesn't garner the hits, but you do an excellent job of them.
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|Wouldn't a delay impart an already announced release schedule? In my 26 years on the planet, that has always been the meaning of a delay. A deferment from the originally planned occurrence of said event. Maybe I am wrong.
-JL1
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|Just like with xp sp3 release guesses... , well 2nd guess whent correctly , so if no beta2 on august then we jsut afto wait 1 more month..
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