Microsoft steps up browser battle - 28/01/2009

• The US software giant says IE 8 is faster, easier to use and more secure than its competitors.
• "We have made IE 8 the best browser for the way people really do use the web," said Microsoft's Amy Barzdukas.
• "Microsoft needs to say these things because it continues to lose market share to Firefox, Chrome and Safari," said Gartner analyst Neil MacDonald.
• Recent figures have shown that Microsoft's dominance in this space has been chipped away by competitors.
• At the end of last year, data from Net Applications showed the software giant's market share dropped below 70% for the first time in eight years to 68%.
• Meanwhile Mozilla broke the 20% barrier for the first time in its history with 21% of users using its browser Firefox.
• IE 8 offers performance upgrades to speed up page loading, new navigation features and tab isolation so that if you hit a bad site only that tab closes and not the whole browser.
• WebSlices will give users a way to keep updated about a particular item on a web page like stock prices, the weather or an eBay auction.
• Accelerators let users access Web services like maps or translations in a small window without having to leave the page.
• This new browser will also come already installed in the latest OS Windows 7, which should make Internet Explorer more popular with its users.