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IE 8.1 Supports Firefox Plugins, Rendering Engine

Posted by kdawson on from the fruits-of-competition dept.

KermodeBear writes in to note that according to Smashing Magazine, the newest version of Internet Explorer, codenamed "Eagle Eyes," supports Firefox plugins, the Gecko and Webkit rendering engines, and has scored a 71 / 100 on the Acid3 test. The article is pretty gee-whiz, and I don't entirely believe the claims that IE's JavaScript performance will trounce the others. (And note that the current Firefox, 3.0.8, scores 71 on Acid3, and Safari 3.1.2 hits 75.) No definitive date from Microsoft, but "sources" say that an IE 8.1 beta will be released in the summer.

17 of 283 comments (clear)

  1. April fools... by MK_CSGuy · · Score: 5, Informative

    Nothing to see here, move along...

  2. Breaking News! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Breaking News: April Fools joke leaked on March 31st

    1. Re:Breaking News! by ThrowAwaySociety · · Score: 5, Informative

      I'd accept the "it's-April-1-here" argument, except that:

      1. The article is dated "By Jacob Gube, March 31st, 2009"
      2. The URL contains the string ".../2009/03/31/..."

  3. Come on... by spacefight · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...it isn't April 1st yet :)

  4. Wait...what? by thesolo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I smell bullshit.

    How on earth would IE 8, a browser with a UI not written in XUL, be able to "flawlessly" use a Firefox plugin like Tab Mix Plus? Unless IE 8.1 embeds all of Gecko, plus XUL, XPCom, the XPI to install the plugins, you couldn't install or run a plugin on it. And why on earth would Microsoft suddenly give in and embed other rendering engines? That's not something the dominant browser does, that's something that a low-share browser does to help with compatibility, ala Netscape 7.

    I don't buy it. Furthermore, the article is light on details, has some dubious screenshots, and was published just before April Fools' Day.

    P.S. If you want to use Firebug in non-Firefox browsers, then use the Lite version. It works great in IE.

  5. From the comments ... by krou · · Score: 5, Informative
    RTFC, perhaps? From Smashing Magazine's editorial team, 16th comment:

    actually, it is April 1st in Kiribati already (see Link [is.gd]) and since we have readers all across the globe, it sounds quite OK for us to publish the post now. We don't have that many readers from Kiribati, but it would be unfair to publish it when it's April 2nd there ;)

    --
    'If Christ had tweeted the sermon on the mount, it might have lasted until nightfall.' - John Perry Barlow
  6. IE 8.1 really rocks by INeededALogin · · Score: 5, Funny

    They also decided to release an OSX version again and while I was taking a shower, it fed and took my dog for a walk.

  7. Okay by slapout · · Score: 5, Funny

    So, that's what the Conficker virus does...

    --
    Coder's Stone: The programming language quick ref for iPad
  8. IETab for IE 8.1 by mistapotta · · Score: 5, Funny

    Can I run IE Tab on Internet Explorer and make the world explode?

  9. Re:Don't forget to vote! by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 5, Funny

    Check out the author's tagline at the end:

    Jacob Gube is a professional contemporary dancer for the New York City Dance Company. An avid Steve Jobs follower(/stalker)*, you can find him in the local Star Bucks with his Mac Book Air developing .NET applications. Follow him on Twitter⦠if you really must.

    *Seriously Steve, was that restraining order necessary? I was only trying to give you a hug. In retrospect, I shouldâ(TM)ve not done that naked.

    --
    My blog
  10. Re:Don't forget to vote! by digitalunity · · Score: 5, Funny

    I hereby turn in my Slashdot member card until it is 4/2/2009 or later in all time zones.

    Thanks.
    digitalunity

    --
    You can't legislate goodness. Let each to his own destiny, by will of his freely made choices.
  11. Re:Don't forget to vote! by eddy+the+lip · · Score: 5, Funny

    Or a -1.

    I love a good hoax as much as the next guy (the perl/python/parrot thing was great), but I dread April 1 every year now. Disabling every second news source on the planet for 24 hours leaves me with nothing to do but actual work.

    --

    This is the voice of World Control. I bring you Peace.

  12. Re:Don't forget to vote! by master5o1 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yeah, but when the site's URL has the date in it, and it's 31 March, then it's really stupid. I'm in New Zealand so It's been April for 10 hours now.


    http://www.smashingmagazine.com/ 2009/03/31/breaking-internet-explorer-81-eagle-eyes-leaked/

    --
    signature is pants
  13. Re:Don't forget to vote! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    You can have your member card back. 4th of February has passed in all time zones I know of

  14. Re:Don't forget to vote! by Randle_Revar · · Score: 5, Insightful

    DD/MM/YYYY is better than MM/DD/YYYY, but still not as good as YYYY/MM/DD

    --
    Climate Progress - Hell and High Water
  15. Re:Don't forget to vote! by AvitarX · · Score: 5, Funny

    Where is the omgponies tag?

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  16. Re:Don't forget to vote! by PopeRatzo · · Score: 5, Funny

    To be fair, Felix, New Zealand just does not matter.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.