IE 8
Well, finally they got the browser to the point where it's on par with Firefox. I spoke to the IE 8 team while they were building it and asked if they were working on launch speed. They said yes, and they delivered. So, there's three things that the browser has that will probably have me convert back to IE from FF on even my personal boxes. :-O
- Ctrl-N launches a new window at the same URL your current window is. This is great for when you want to go off on a link tangent in the current window but don't want to leave where you are. This one is an oldie but a goodie.
- Forward and back buttons return you to the same place on the page you were. This is huuuuuge for when you're doing a lot of back and forth, but the page is long (think Facebook feed). "Oh noes... where was I on this page?" IE always jumps back to the exact same spot you were before you went forward, and now that you're back.
- And the new feature I love - Accelerators. Amazing! Highlight text, and in two clicks, you have a new tab with the highlighted text "Web Searched" (Oogle-gaid). Maybe they have a plug-in for Firefox that does this. I dunno. But it's dope. And it's enough to finally switch me back.
The dev toolbar also looks like it could be a huge plus, although I haven't had a chance to use it in practice yet.
Way to go IE product group!