Microsoft is gearing its latest IE 8 release for Web developers. However, a second beta version, scheduled to arrive mid-year, is aimed at a wider audience, Microsoft's top browser executive has revealed.
"It's public," general manager Dean Hachamovitch told ZDNet.com.au's sister site CNET News.com of Beta 1, released on Wednesday. "It's out on Microsoft.com somewhere. Anyone can download it...but this beta version really is for developers."
Hachamovitch declined to say whether the final version of the browser will be released at the same time as Windows 7, the next version of Microsoft's operating system. He did note that Microsoft released IE 7 for XP ahead of Windows Vista, so it is technically possible to do so.
As was the case with the IE 7 betas, those installing the test version of IE 8 will have to replace their current browser.
The IE 8 beta will run on both 64-bit and 32-bit versions of Windows Vista and Windows Vista SP1 as well as Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Windows Server 2003 and 2008.
In designing the browser, Hachamovitch said Microsoft is trying to find ways to both be more compatible and add features. On that latter front, he pointed to a consumer feature known as activities, which allows users to select a block of text and have it looked up on a reference site such as Dictionary.com or mapped with Microsoft or Google's services.
"Right now, the Web for a lot of people is 'some assembly required,'" he said. "This integrates the services you use with the sites you visit."
