Microsoft has just released Internet Explorer version 8.0 RC1, which is supposedly going to be bundled with Windows 7. But before you go and press the download button, let us have a look if they have made any substantial changes. In other words, is the new IE really worth it?

MS says: New rendering engine, support for CSS 2.1, ’smart address bar’ ( very similar to Firefox’s Awesome Bar ).
It is not available for Macs, only for WinXP and Vista 32 and 64 bit versions. MS officials have confirmed of not going for any further changes in the user-interface or the programming from now onwards until its release. So pretty much, RC1 is what you would get. So, what’s different from the beta? MS has listed the whole list out here.

But seems like, more than that, IE (or rather MS) has picked up a few tips from Chrome (Google). Firstly, the separate process for each tab which would ensure IE would not crash for failure in one of the tabs.

Secondly, the “porn mode” or the InPrivate mode which is very similar to the Incognito Window in Google Chrome.

DownloadSquad has run a few tests comparing the IE8 RC1 with Google Chrome, Firefox 3 and Opera. The results are here.

For more on the IE8 RC1, please visit the following links.

New Internet Explorer 8 accelerates browsing

Microsoft Releases Internet Explorer 8 RC1: Promises Faster and Safer Browsing

Microsoft’s IE8 Release Candidate Is Live; Nearly Identical To Final Release

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