CompetitiveBrowserDevelopment

Internet Explorer

• Web Browser: IE
• Version: 8.0
• Release Date: should ship some time in 2008; expected to be able to release new versions of IE every 12 to 18 months, but Wilson said an every-two-year schedule was looking more likely.
• Direction: standards compliance
• Emphasis: security
• Features:
• Challenges: compatibility vs. standards-compliance connundrum which Microsoft has wrestling with its current and future IE releases. With a half-billion IE users out there, Microsoft takes its responsibility seriously to not break sites without solid reasons, Wilson told attendees

Notes:

• require Web site authors to "opt-in" to standards mode when developing IE 8.0 sites.
• more standards-complaint
  • authors then have to take responsibility for breaking pages.
• investing across layout, object model and Ajax development fronts
  • making IE 8.0 more compliant with CSS 2.1 layout standards
  • working to make the IE 8.0 object model more interoperable with that used by other browsers
  • provide more client-side application programming interfaces (APIs) to support local storage for mash-ups
• allow developers to more easily add extensions to its browser,
• invest heavily in advancing its Web development toolbar with the next version of IE.
• continues to see security as its No. 1 challenge with IE 8.0.