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Internet Explorer 8 - websites warned to prep for problems
Microsoft: "Get ready" now

By Mary-Jo Foley

Published: Friday 13 June 2008

Although Beta 2 of Internet Explorer (IE) 8 isn't due out until some time in August, Microsoft is cautioning website owners that they need to be prepping now for possible problems the new, more standards-compliant browser may cause.

As part of this week's IE June security update for IE8 Beta 1, Microsoft introduced a new tag, 'IE+EmulateIE7' - which it is counting on to head off some of the incompatibilities the company is anticipating could occur, based on feedback it received from IE8 Beta 1 testers.

In an IE Blog posting on 10 June, members of the IE team reminded site owners - many of whom had designed their sites to display correctly in less-standards-compliant, prior versions of IE - that they need to "get ready" for IE8 so that their content will "continue to display seamlessly".

Microsoft decided earlier this year that it will make 'super-standards' mode the default with IE8. This is one of three modes which will be supported in IE8. The other two are 'quirks' mode, which will be compatible with current IE pages and applications, and a 'standards' mode, which will be the same as what's offered by IE7 and "compatible with current content".

Microsoft originally planned to make the super-standards mode an opt-in choice and the IE7 standards mode the default - claiming that by doing so, Microsoft would ensure better backwards-compatibility with existing websites and applications. But critics claimed Microsoft was shirking its commitment to make IE more standards-compliant.

Microsoft released a first beta of IE8 in March. Company officials have declined to say when the final version of IE8 will ship.