Internet Explorer 8 is here. Windows 7 is on the way, and should be available just in time for Christmas, according to Microsoft. We'll cover both topics in this week's column.

Internet Explorer 8

Let me start by saying I am a big fan of the Mozilla Firefox (http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/personal.html) browser, a free competitor to Microsoft's Internet Explorer. The current version of Firefox is 3.0.10, and in my opinion Firefox continues to outperform Internet Explorer in terms of speed, safety, and customization. Firefox continues to erode Microsoft's domination of the browser market. If you haven't tried it yet, I recommend that you do.

In an effort to stop losing ground to Firefox, Microsoft has released Internet Explorer 8 for Vista and XP users. As it says on the Microsoft website (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/Internet-explorer/default.aspx), it's "Faster, safer, easier than ever."

There are five important changes from IE7. The first is a browsing mode called "InPrivate." When you activate "InPrivate" the browser won't save any data about the current session. So if you want to shop online for that surprise jewellery for your anniversary, you can safely do that without any history or cookies hanging around to spoil the surprise. Click on the "Safety" button on the toolbar to activate this mode.

The "SmartScreenFilter" is meant to keep you safe from "inadvertent installation of malicious software." Much has been written about the effectiveness of this feature, and not everyone agrees that it's working well enough. I do recommend Web Of Trust (http://www.mywot.com/) regardless of which browser you use. (More here: http://rlis.com/columns/column184.htm.)

The "Suggested Sites" feature is just what it sounds like: You'll get suggestions about other websites based on what you are searching for, what you are currently looking at, and your browsing history. (Another reason to consider using the "InPrivate" mode!)

The final two changes are the addition of "Accelerators" and "Web Slices." Accelerators simply add more choices to your right-click menu when you are using IE8. "Web Slices" allow you to keep track of rapidly changing pages, for instance an eBay auction or sports scores. You will find lots more information about all these features here:

Internet Explorer

I was able to install IE8 without incident on my trusty Windows XP Pro laptop, but it took a long time. The installation process took just over fifteen minutes, and required a restart. Once I restarted, IE8 insisted on taking me through a lengthy question and answer session about Accelerators, Favorites, and search engines. Plan to spend some time getting IE8 set up, because it will nag you until you do it!

Windows 7

The Next Big Thing from Microsoft will be a new operating system, replacing Vista. People have been beta testing Windows 7, and the Release Candidate was made available to the public earlier this year. I have not been testing Windows 7, but I have been keeping up with the reviews. Most reviewers say that Windows 7 is "what Vista is supposed to be." That's a relief for those of us holding on to XP for our dear lives.

Microsoft claims that if your computer is capable of running Vista (except the dreadful "Vista Home Basic" version), then your computer will run Windows 7. If you're not running Vista, or if you just want to check, there is a tool you can download to do just that. Browse to the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor page, here:

Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor

Plug in everything --- web cams, printers, mp3 players --- and run the tool. You'll get a very clear report about your computer and everything plugged into it, and whether or not you're good to go for Windows 7. Look for Windows 7 to be released late 2009 or early 2010. (http://windows7news.com/tag/windows-7-release-date/)

So what else is new?

Alert readers will have noticed a change in the name of our company. We are now Computer Care Kelowna. We changed the name to more accurately reflect what we do. So don't worry --- the old email will still work for some time to come, and the column archive is right where it always was. But you are welcome to stop by the new website and have a look around.

Computer Care Kelowna

Do you need help with your computer? With your printer/camera/music player? Do you have a new computer and now you're wondering how to get the files from the old one over to the new one? I'm here to help you and your computer get along!

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