History
IE8 development started in at least March 2006. In February 2008, Microsoft sent out private invitations for IE8 Beta 1, and on March 5, 2008, released Beta 1 to the general public, although with a focus on web developers. The release launched with a Windows Internet Explorer 8 Readiness Toolkit website promoting IE8 white papers, related software tools, and new features in addition to download links to the Beta. The Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) added new sections detailing new IE8 technology. Major press focused on a controversy about Version Targeting, and two new features then called WebSlice and Activities. The readiness toolkit was promoted as something "developers can exploit to make Internet Explorer 8 'light up'."
On August 27, 2008, Microsoft made IE8 Beta 2 generally available. PC World noted various Beta 2 features such as InPrivate mode, tab isolation and color coding, and improved standards and compatibility compared to Internet Explorer 7. Two name changes included Activities to Accelerators, and the IE7 Phishing filter renamed Safety Filter in the first Beta to SmartScreen, both accompanied by incremental technical changes as well. By August 2008, the new feature called InPrivate had taken the spotlight.
The first non-beta version was released on March 19, 2009.
On January 5, 2009, a tool was provided by Microsoft to block the automatic install of Internet Explorer 8 via Windows Update.
As of May 20, 2009, Windows XPe (Embedded) was not a supported platform for Internet Explorer 8. There have been no announcements of planned support.
On May 27, 2010, Microsoft released Internet Explorer 8 optimized for Bing and MSN. The file name is BOIE8_ENUS_XP.exe.
Read more about this topic: Internet Explorer 8
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