Thinking about upgrading to IE8? Think twice

Wow, shocking InfoWorld would post something bashing a Microsoft product. I have started deploying IE 8 in our enterprise and have had great success.. but I guess something like that doesn't matter when some crazy hack running a PC Repair shop says he has customers coming in and IE 8 supposedly has ruined their laptops.

Talk about snarky. There's plenty of legitimate issues one can have with Microsoft; granted. But bashing a product without citing even one real complaint? Bashing it just because it bears their logo? I upgraded to it on my 5 year old XP machine with NO issues at all including Flash. There are some nice new features. Are these features sweeping game changers? No, but I've had NO issues at all. Find something real to bash.

IE is not my primary browser, so I do not see any downside in my upgrading it. (In fact, I prefer IE8 without it's "important" backward compatability patch.) Anyways, I use IE8 every day, though only on a limited set of sites, and they work well enough for me.

This is probably the worst bashing article I have seen in a long time. It is based on a 3rd party opinion. I have installed IE8 on 14 different laptops, all of various types and a mixture of XP and Vista machines. Not one has had any problems at all. All users were thrilled with the new browser and a couple switched from using Firefox. You may have problems if you install a bad plug-in or bad toolbar. I experienced that on one machine. Once the problematic synchronization of favorites was removed IE8 was rock stable. That vendor later corrected their sync program and all is well. Again, 14 installations on various machines using XP and Vista and all are operating great with IE8.

Is there a trick to print a page from Microsoft's own support forum with IE8? I can print http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308252 from Firefox3 and IE7, but not IE8.

I couldn't upgrade to Vista SP2 without first upgrading to IE8. The SP2 installation simply failed as long as I was using IE7. Conclusion: Vista users are OBLIGED to move to IE8.

What is this IE8 thing in the first place? Can't seem to find it in any repository that I know of...

This is advice from an idiot!

Both RXC and the commenters should pay heed to the notion that "anecdote" is not the singular form of "data." On the one hand, I have had great success updating to IE8 on XP and Vista. On the other hand, I have not updated any servers to it because I have encountered problems even upgrading to IE7 where it changes security settings and breaks code which accesses network resources.

WOW...More of the they are doing this so that means this type of reporting..or umm commenting. Like most of the others here I have never experienced the mysterious problems people seem to have with MS products. harrymc I don't know if you are being facitious ar what but having to upgrade to ie8 to install Vista SP2 is BS. If you had problems it wasn't ie8 stopping you. I find it ironic that these types of articles only serve to highten the writer's reputation instead of diminishing it. Long live the open source fanboy.

It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.

I have to say that on Windows 7 RC IE 8 runs absolutely wonderfully. I still use Chrome for the most part, even though it's a bit unstable on W7, but when I have to fire up IE for a specific tast, like using the web Outlook client I'm always pleasantly surprised at how smooth everything is. It's the first Internet Explorer I've enjoyed using in a very long time.

It's good to see that many people are NOT having any issues with IE8. For those who are, Microsoft provides instructions for returning to IE7 here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/957700/en-us That was a useful link for me when the first business related site I visited after upgrading my Vista laptop would not display. Yes, I do have limited patience when "upgrades" don't seem to deliver on their promise. As with IE7 when it first came out, I'll wait for the rest of the world to adjust to Microsoft's latest before trying IE8 again.

Whine whine whine. Sorry - there's nothing wrong with IE8 - and for the moron who suggests that users shouldn't know a thing about the software they are using - here's a tip: I agree! Because the idiots who think installing software X with 20 variants of malware in them are keeping me in business! If you don't know how to keep your computer bug free and troubleshoot small things, go back to kindergarten with your children and learn anew - otherwise, pay up to keep it going. You keep my children fed.

I have two questions- 1. Why do people who don't have any problems with upgrades gloat and ridicule those who do? And, 2. Why does MS continue to launch SW without finding out about bugs, or outright inoperability? IE8 wouldn't load one webpage on a Vista 32-bit system. I've never had near that serious of a problem with Firefox, my primary browser. Like most SW from Microsquash, simple problems are handled in a complicated, and thus prone to fail, method.

DELETED, for it be spam. Arrrrgh.

My sister tried to install IE8 because she thought Microsoft said she needed to(see note on automatic updates). The install of IE8 failed because of a security issue but did not tell her it failed, just exited. After that, she could not use Outlook Express or IE. It would not allow her to type any text into any of the fields. All other programs worked fine. After 4 longs hours, we figured out the problem, ran a MS fixit program and IE 8 installed correctly. Then everything worked fine.

Boy are there a lot of haters who post comments here. I get a laugh every time from those who hate everything but what they have been brainwashed to beleive in. So much for dialog.

I myself have had troubles with IE8 on my Vista (32) Ultimate PC (test pc). So I have recommended to my customers to wait on installation until the product is more mature. After being the business for over 25 years I have learned a few things. One is the ANY product from Microsoft with an even number (DOS 2.0, DOS6.0, IE6) all need to mature before they work as designed. Two is there are no two computers alike. Third is don't drink the kool-aid!

Mixed results here. My fiance tried to install it on her laptop which is running Vista. Somehow it hosed IE to the point that it wouldn't run at all until I uninstalled IE8. Apparently something didn't go right during the install. I wasn't there when she tried to install it so I have no idea what actually transpired. For now she's sticking with IE7. When things settle down a bit I'm going to put XP Pro on her computer. A few weeks ago I installed IE8 on my laptop which is running XP Pro and have experienced no problems with it so far.

While the article is immediately suspect because it doesn't mention compatability mode in the absurdly vague description of someone not being able to "view web pages" and doesn't not that the forced browser upgrades are now the exception (firefox) rather than the rule. However, it veers into an outright lying when the author claims that "Because although IE8 is probably more secure than any other version of IE". That is just a lie with zero evidence presented or available. The author does everyone on the web a disservice with this lie because some poor idiots out there might actually believe this guy and keep the disasterous IE 6 running instead of upgrading. I'm not a huge fan of MS and think firefox is the browser of choice but this person is a liar and is not to be trusted.

Point 1: Compatability Mode is not for the IE8 browser. It is for web sites which have not yet updated their encoding to be IE8 compatable. Most of these sites are poorly constructed, and rely on browser and version specific codes or script elements. Definitely not Microsoft's fault.

Point 2: I read Windows Secrets weekly, and the full context of the IE8 problem in the O'Reilly article was that the fellow had been using IE6 and could not figure out how to revert to IE6, not IE7. Reverting to IE7 is a simple matter of going to the Control Panel Add/Remove Programs List and Removing IE8. When you reboot, you are back to IE7 in most cases. And in Windows 7 you don't even have to have any Internet Explorer -- you can disable it entirely. (Of course, download the Firefox installer before disabling IE8!)

Point 3: As with SP3 for Windows XP, in order to install SP2 for Vista, certain updates must be applied. IE8 is not one of them. If you are like me, you do not jhave Automatic Updates set to download and install every piece of crap MS wants to feed your PC. So, go to MS Updates and get whatever you need before doing any browser or Service Pack upgrade. And after applying any MS upgrade, go to MS Update just to run through the first few steps and get your updater updated. And then test your Flash and Shockwave Players at the Adobe Test Your Players web page. Update as needed. These are basic steps anybody should know before attempting any MS upgrade. (Did I mention also having a backup image of your C: Drive?)

None of this is Rocket Science. (OK, maybe the Image Backup part is a bit technical.) However, if you don't follow AskWoody.com (Woody Leonhard's MS Patch Watch web site) and WindowsSecrets.com, as well as reading the Infoworld tech news about once a month, the damage to your PC and your nerves is basically your own fault. I don't expect such sophistication from your Grandmother, but if you read Infoworld, a certain amount of tech savvy is to be expected, no?

BTW, I have never upgraded to Vista. I waited nearly a year before applying Windows XP SP3. And IE8 will be on my next laptop, a Windows 7 machine, in about another year from now. (Besides, I use Firefox for everything where it works, except MS Updates.) If XP support goes belly-up, I feel confident that I can get by on my hardware with Ubuntu Linux for a few months. Not every laptop can do that, but my Winbook can.

As Woody Leonhard likes to quip, you can tell the pioneers. They're the ones with the arrows in their backs!

I have automatic updates installed on my XP so when IE8 started to download thought nothing of it but as soon as installed everything froze could do nothing but shut down pc when I turned it back on got message root system 32 file missing or corrupted please reinstall had to send it to shop and when they told me what happened would not recommend it to anyone.