It looks like IE8 is about to be released for beta, there is a Microsoft site up that has various links for downloading the beta of the upcoming browser. None of the links on the page currently work but there are several versions looking to be made available very soon. With SXSW just around the corner it looks like they may be releasing it to the public for beta testing within the next week or two (hopefully sooner). With their announcement also that the browser will work by default in standards mode things are looking good for Microsoft’s next browser version. Once IE8 is released I will update this page with the news. Until then just keep checking back here and on the link to see if it is available for download.

Update: IE8 beta Is now available for downloading!

Update2: I’m not impressed so far, lots of sites are broken on it (this site, CNN, HP, etc). It also does not in fact pass the acid2 test like Microsoft had previously claimed. So far it is a big let down in my opinion. They have added a few features that are irrelevant if it doesn’t render web sites properly. I’ll have a better write up after some testing.

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