IE8 Beta 1

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I've started using IE8 Beta 1 again tonight and was delighted to discover that my own site was working fine with it, with one exception. The Microsoft generated code providing links through which you could create a 22hundred.net account was a bit messed up. I decided to simply remove this from the site, I don't think it added any real feature anyway.

I tried using IE8 to read my RSS feeds in Google Reader and they did not play well together. The image above is a screen shot of what happened. While it looks like a nice piece of art it's not what I want to see when I'm looking for information. I'm interested to see how many major sites like Google Reader are going to change in order to accommodate the new IE or will we see companies complain again about Microsoft damaging them until IE8 is reduced to mere shadow of it's current self.

Firefox steals IE's Home button

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I know this is silly but thought I'd point it out anyway. I just downloaded beta 3 of Firefox and the home button looks familiar. Take a look at the button from IE on the right and Firefox on the left and tell me they don't look strangely similar.

EU say pound of flesh is not enough

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Yet more anti-competitive cases opened by the EU. I wonder how many chairs Steve threw through the Redmond Windows, glass versions, when he heard about these newest ones.

European regulation continues to be a thorn in Microsoft’s side. After years of investigations over alleged anti-competitive practices, the European Commission now has a large body of experienced prosecutors only too ready and willing to take up the cudgels on behalf of European entities, and others. And organisations like Opera Software, the Norway-based web browser company, are only too willing to pick up the Bat-phone to the Commissioner in Brussels. It must be on speed-dial by now.

The latest twist is the launch of two new Microsoft antitrust investigations by the Commission, one of which involves products and technologies for which Microsoft allegedly is withholding interoperability information, including its .Net framework, Office Open XML (OOXML) document format and various server products. The European Commission also has officially started its antitrust investigation into Microsoft’s tying of Internet Explorer to Windows, lodged by - guess who? - Opera Software in mid-December. Not only this, but US firms are happy to lodge complaints with the Commission, including Google, helping the slow down the progress of the Redmond giant.

Microsoft says it will “cooperate fully with the Commission’s investigation”. You can see the guys in Redmond now - just sitting back in their chairs with yet another sigh of resignation…

http://uk.techcrunch.com/2008/01/14/european-regulation-is-the-one-bug-microsoft-just-cant-nuke/

Just a little point to remember, Linux is bundled with Firefox and Leopard is bundled with Safari. What's the difference?