Internet Explorer 8 is the latest browser in the IE family and comes packed with so many new features that I initially wrote it off as a bloated mess. After spending three days using IE8 exclusively, I share my findings and hope to help you make the decision to use the browser or not.

Initial Impressions

IE8 is both fast and easy to use. When looking for a browser, these are two key components that help differentiate the browser from the other offerings out there. I’m not going to get technical in this article; I want to explain the facts in plain English and have you find out if IE8 is for you.

8 Reasons Why You Should Download IE8

Here are eight reasons I feel make IE8 stand out and contribute to why you should download IE8:

1. Web Privacy Protection

Some sites and advertisers track your browsing habits and serve ads and suggestions based upon those habits. With IE8, you can protect your browsing privacy and block tracking cookies.

To block tracking cookies, simply press the ALT key, click Tools > Internet Options, click the Privacy Tab, and set your privacy settings to Medium or higher (Medium privacy is the default setting for IE8.) Doing so will result in the following privacy report on mintywhite.com:

To view the privacy report yourself, press the ALT key, click View >Webpage Privacy Policy…

2. Local Privacy Protection

If you are using a public/shared computer or if you want to protect your privacy on the machine you are using, IE8 comes with InPrivate browsing. This feature stops IE storing tracking information on your browser and allows you to browse the internet without leaving tracks behind you. To enable InPrivateBrowsing, click Safety > InPrivate Browsing (CTRL+SHIFT+P)

3. Web Surfing Protection

The SmartScreen filter helps you check a websites validitiy and report suspicious websites. There are too many phishing sites to count online and the number increases every day. With the smart screen filter, you can protect yourself by checking websites before you use them.

To use the SmartScreen Filter, click Safety > SmartScreenFilter, and choose an option.

4. Page Content Search

I search webpages for text all the time (usually after a search.) I couldn’t stand IE7’s pop-up search box. IE8 has replaced the search box with a search bar that functions much like Firefox’s–much better!

5. Web Accelerators

Web accelerators help you perform routine tasks more easily. View the possibilities of IE8 Web Accelerators here.

To use a web accelerator, right click on the webpage and click All Accelerators > Your Accelerator. Using the Share on Facebook accelerator takes you to the Facebook share page (once you’ve logged into Facebook.)

6. Source Viewing/Editing in Your Favorite Editor

This one is a simple addition but I love it. Now, instead of viewing a page source in a plain browser-based text editor, IE8 opens page source code in your favorite editor. This isn’t useful for most people, but if you’re a web designer or similar, you’ll probably find this a useful feature.

7.  Recently Closed Tabs

To view recently closed tabs and more, open a new tab in IE (CTRL+T) and you’ll see a list of recently opened tabs — very useful.

8. Web Slices

Web Slices are pretty cool; however, they’re not for me. I’m not normal, so I decided to add them to this list and hope you “normal” people will benefit from them. After all, I’m not telling me to use IE8, I’m (kindly) asking you to give it a try. Put simply, Web Slices take “chunks” of web pages and give you quick access to them anywhere. There aren’t too many Web Slice-enabled pages right now. But to get your first Web Slice, go to Live.com, search for “[your hometown] weather” and you should see the following:

Click the green icon and you’ll be asked the following:

Add the Web Slice to your Favorites bar and you’ll never need to go to your weather site again!

Bonus: Crashed Tab Handling

Some web pages aren’t well put together and poorly written scripts and data overload can cause your browser to crash. In IE8, if one tab crashes, you can re-launch it without affecting your browsing; other tabs stay in tact and you don’t need to restart your browser.

What I Don’t Like About IE8

I’m still not a fan of the following:

• Lack of decent Add-on support
• Difficulty in blocking ads (see above)
• Opening IE, typing an address, and finding IE wasn’t quite ready as it deletes my address and loads my homepage (picky, but I don’t like to be slowed down)
• IE’s strict web standards enforcement, which break most websites (even in compatibility mode.)
• IE8 still feels sluggish at times
• IE8 is harder to customize than Firefox (for example: compressed menus)

Conclusion

As you can see above, I really like IE8 and, if I had to, I’d use it all the time and not have a major problem with it. I’ve discussed some great features and feel these are great additions. It all boils down to how you find the experience. I’ve pointed you to some of the prominent and useful features, now give it a try. Already using IE8? Avoiding IE8 like the plague? Share your thoughts about IE8 in the comments below.

Further Reading

• MouseExtender is an iPhone-like Menu for Windows
• Acer Gridvista Enables Aero Snap Features [Vista and XP]
• Really Take Control over Your Right-click Context Menu [How To]
• Remote Desktop, No Installation Required – Freeware
• [Update] Essential Firefox Add-ons Collection

Want More Icons?

Check out more icon collections on Mintywhite.com or learn how to use these on a dock in Windows.

Further Reading

• Get Windows 7 Style Taskbar Thumbnail Previews in XP [How To]
• Really Take Control over Your Right-click Context Menu [How To]
• MouseExtender is an iPhone-like Menu for Windows
• Acer Gridvista Enables Aero Snap Features [Vista and XP]
• 111 Free Icon Packs for Your Dock/Website

OneNote is one of the best pieces of software available for use with Windows. No other software on any platform can match what OneNote can do. In this guide you will learn why OneNote is so good and how you can begin to use it to organize your life.

Why OneNote?

OneNote can help you with the following: school notes, work plans, journal writing, plan making, web design, and much more!

Personally I use OneNote for my school notes and I use it to draft and store articles I publish for mintywhite.com.

How do I get started?

I have just put together a few screenshots for you – hopefully, these will inspire you to create your own master piece. OneNote’s sections break down into three parts:

Notebooks - Think of them as Years/Semesters/Projects etc.
Sections - Months/Classes/Milestones etc.
Pages - Days/Lectures/Steps etc.

Here are three screenshots showing how I have my mintywhite ideas and articles set up. After looking at these, you can get started yourself!

Notebooks

Sections

Pages

What if I Don’t Have Microsoft Office?

To evaluate OneNote 2007, you can get a free trial here.

What if I Have More Questions?

Leave a comment, or contact us here. We will be happy to answer any questions you have.

Further Reading

• Office 2010: Modify The Ribbon [How To]
• Free Mac/Windows/Linux Icon Packs [Set 17] PNG/ICO
• Free Mac/Windows/Linux Icon Packs [Set 16] PNG/ICO
• Free Mac/Windows/Linux Icon Packs [Set 15] PNG/ICO
• Free Mac/Windows/Linux Icon Packs [Set 14] PNG/ICO

Do you already have one, but dislike the white box that surrounds your icon?

If so, this guide is for you.

Please note: you will need Photoshop to follow this guide.

Open up Photoshop and select File > New (CTRL+N)

The following dialogue will pop up.

For the width and height, type in 32.

Paste in your favorite icon. You should see something like the image below.

Now select Image > Mode > Indexed Color (if it isn’t already selected.)

Hit “OK” at the following screen after ensuring the settings match the ones listed here.

Now select the Magic Wand tool (W)

Click on the white area that you would like to eliminate. Then press the delete key.

You should see checkered boxes in the background.

Now save the file as a PNG.

When prompted, select “None” and hit “OK“.

Now visit this website. Browse to the image on your hard drive (remember it must be a PNG) and convert the PNG image to an icon.

After downloading the icon, upload it to your web server.

Now for the last step. For each page or template you want to include the icon with put the following line of code between the tags.

You’re done! Upload the page with the new code and there you have it – a tidy transparent icon for others to identify your page by.

Further Reading

• Best Windows Freebies and Guides 17 [August 2009]
• 8 Reasons Why You Should Download IE8
• Download Free Vista/XP Virtual Desktops PowerToy
• 90 Free High Quality Icon Packs [Set 1]
• Freeware Applications for Your Every Need

I have compiled some screenshots of the more popular sites. How do they compare to today’s versions?

Using the Wayback Machine I put together a list of the more popular sites. Did the internet really look this bad? Well it all had to start somewhere.

[Click to see a larger image]

Altavista

AOL

Apple

BBC.co.uk

Lycos

McDonalds

Microsoft

MSN

NASA.gov

Netscape

Pizza Hut

Site Robo4

Wendy’s Homepage

Wendy’s “Hallway”

Whitehouse.gov

Yahoo

I hope you enjoyed the list.

Further Reading

• 8 Reasons Why You Should Download IE8
• Seven Days with Windows 7: Making it Functional
• 30 Free Icon Packs for Windows/Mac Dock/Desktop [PNG/ICO]
• Links
• A Touch of Mac – Free Icon Packs for Your Dock (Windows/Mac)

Want to see what your web site looks like through the eyes of another browser?

A great tool for seeing how your page looks in other browsers and operating systems is browsershots.org

Simply go to the site, enter your URL, select the browsers you want to evaluate your page in and press Submit.

Further Reading

• 8 Reasons Why You Should Download IE8
• Seven Days with Windows 7: Making it Functional
• 90 Free High Quality Icon Packs [Set 1]
• Freeware Applications for Your Every Need
• MouseExtender is an iPhone-like Menu for Windows