It's crunch time for Internet Explorer. Today, Microsoft is expected to announce version 8 of the browser. IE has a long, and mostly unpleasant, history. Will IE8 undo the damage caused by the notorious version 6?
The problems for Microsoft are going to be regaining user confidence, convincing existing users to upgrade and clawing back Firefox switchers. Most people don't understand why they should bother upgrading, and many remain unaware that new versions are even available.
There's the added problem that a lot of PC users are switching to Mac because they're dissatisfied with the Windows experience, but that's a slightly different (and much larger) issue for Microsoft to deal with.
We've seen signs recently that Microsoft has begun to listen to criticism: the Windows 7 Beta looks fantastic, and addresses a number of complaints about Vista. And there are indications too that Microsoft is innovating in new ways: the Silverlight platform has terrific potential, and Photosynth is simply jaw-dropping.
But after famously failing to get into the internet, has Microsoft pulled itself together and delivered a killer brower?
As with IE7, Microsoft is promising speed and security improvements to IE8 in addition to a number of "funky" features designed to grab the headlines. Only, to be honest, they're so boring I can't even be bothered to tell you about them.
Let's wait and see. Microsoft surely knows that another duff release will seal IE's fate. It's difficult to measure browser penetration accurately, but most agree that Firefox's share now exceeds 20% of the market. That number will skyrocket if Microsoft has screwed up again.
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