IE8 Beta in Windows 7 Beta Is Touch Enabled

IE8 Beta 2 on steroids

Just as it was the case with Internet Explorer 7, IE8 will come in a variety of releases, each tailored to specific Windows versions, plus the variants that will be shipped as default components of the next iterations of the Windows client and server operating systems. In this context, both Windows 7 and Windows 7 Server will come to the table with Internet Explorer 8. The two platforms in public Beta stage already feature Internet Explorer 8 Beta, which, according to Microsoft, is basically IE8 Beta 2, which is already available for previous releases of Windows, plus fixes and additional features specific to Win 7. For example, in Windows 7 Beta, IE8 Beta is now touch enabled.

“The touch features are all about adapting to how touch interaction is often different than mouse interaction. Because of the different sizes of fingers and the various ways people touch the screen, touch tends to be less accurate than mouse clicking. To respond to that we’ve made a few commonly used features easier to target. When the Favorites Center or Smart Address Bar is invoked with Touch, we put more spacing between items, so it is easier to touch the link you want. We’ve also made the tab close button hit target taller,” Paul Cutsinger, principal lead program manager, explained.

In addition, IE8 Beta in Windows 7 Beta supports by default scrolling the page with the fingers, while the back and forward navigation tasks can be done via simply flicking the page left or right. Attempting to replace the mouse middle-click, Microsoft revealed that users would only have to press the finger on a link and drag it, in order to have it open in a new tab. For multi-touch enabled machines, IE8 Beta in Windows 7 Beta even supports two-finger zoom. However, there are also other features, this time in strict correlation with Windows 7.

“Given that users open the browser with a specific destination in mind – whether it be mail, an online newspaper or even a search, IE8, in conjunction with Windows 7, introduces the new Jump List feature, which makes ‘getting where you’re going’ faster and easier. Jump lists help you get back to the most frequently visited sites in your history list even before you’ve opened the browser! These lists can be opened by dragging up (or right-clicking) on the IE icon on the taskbar. Clicking one of these will launch the IE browser and navigate to that site. Once IE has been opened, you will see the same drag-to-display functionality in the address bar. Simply putting the mouse on the text in the address bar and dragging down will open your most frequently visited sites,” Cutsinger stated.

Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) Beta 2 is available for download here.

Windows 7 Beta is available for download here.