
Highlight a word or phrase on any Web page and IE8's Accelerator Indicator (the blue arrow box with drop down menu) offers choices, such as opening a Google search or a blank e-mail using that word or phrase. You can customize the Accelerator Indicator to include Google Earth or any other Web 2.0 service you might frequently use.
Photo credit: Microsoft












Yes, on the one hand it is great to see M$ adding comparable functionality to its browser.
But on the other hand, you have to ask yourself, if it is right or good to reward such plagiarism.
You'll remember that Netscape was virtually wiped out financially, by M$ copying the functionality of Netscape, and offering the equivalent M$ IE product for free (the first browser war).
Then the competition watchpuppies of the US and EU had problems with M$' plan to 'tightly bundle' the browser within the OS offering to prevent other 'upstarts'.... Plus the Halloween Documents (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween_Documents
) made it clear that standards subversion was the intent.
So you are left with the philosophical choice of supporting these practices, or supporting the newer Open Source competition (eg Firefox) to keep browsing of the web an open-standards environment... With good support for Open Source and standards, browsers can be tested for standards-compliance, and developers will never again be forced to 'customise' a web site for a particular intended browser... or be duped into utilising proprietary protocols.