| Executive Summary: Microsoft Internet Explorer 8.0 Beta 2 has compatibility problems and might not be your first choice for a web browser right now, and Google Chrome Beta, though it's an excellent first effort, lacks some obvious features, such as the ability to be centrally managed. |
Google Chrome Beta
Pros: Excellent rendering engine; good
performance; simple interface
Cons: Not easily extensible; not centrally
manageable
Rating: 4 out of 5
Recommendation: The release of
Google's first Web browser, Chrome, prompted
fears that webmasters and web application
developers would have to deal with yet another
web-browser rendering engine. However,
Chrome utilizes the high quality WebKit
engine, offering excellent site compatibility
and performance. Chrome also excels with a
stripped-down UI. The Chrome home page,
by default, will show you a new "tab page"
that includes your nine most visited pages on
the left and the sites you search on most on
the right, in list format. If there’s a disappointment,
it’s that Chrome isn’t yet as extensible
as its competition. And it lacks such obvious
features as a full-featured bookmark management
system. Still, it’s a great first effort.
Contact: Google • www.google.com
Discussion: www.winsupersite.com/reviews/google_chrome_handson.asp
Microsoft Internet Explorer
8.0 Beta 2
Pros: Excellent end-user functionality and
security
Cons: Compatibility is much worse than
expected, even in Compatibility View
Rating: 3 out of 5
Recommendation: Microsoft Internet
Explorer (IE) 8.0 Beta 2 is a surprisingly tepid
release—its compatibility problems overshadow
its many functional and security
improvements. The software giant pledged
to release IE 8.0 as a standards-compliant
browser, and it succeeded. But I've experienced
many issues with IE 8.0, whether I
was using the default rendering mode or the
compatibility mode, which renders sites as IE
7.0 did. Many sites, including Microsoft sites,
simply don't render correctly with this browser.
Until this is fixed, it limits IE 8.0’s appeal.
Contact: Microsoft • 800-426-9400 •
www.microsoft.com
Discussion: www.winsupersite.com/reviews/ie8_beta2.asp
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