Internet Explorer’s Sneak Attack On Google

Microsoft’s new browser IE 8 has just been released in Beta and it comes with a search box in the upper right-hand corner and, just below that, a row of tiny logos for various search destinations, such as Yahoo, Ebay and MySpace. You can select which destinations you want to include here.

If your search will likely end up in Wikipedia, for instance, with a single click over a little “W” you can search only that encyclopedia. Amazon.com (nasdaq: AMZN – news – people ) displays items for sale. The New York Times shows snippets of stories. So far 27 Web sites have joined the drop-down column, including Facebook and Digg.

Microsoft is, uncharacteristically, keeping its hands off, giving Web sites the option to serve up results and customize how they appear. It also magnanimously lets those sites take all the revenue from ads alongside the results. That’s a sly stab at Google’s business, though this kind of searching–where users already know where they want to go–doesn’t yield especially lucrative ads for Google.

Another Google-dodging feature in the new browser: Highlighting a street address on a Web page launches a map, with the default set to Microsoft’s Live Maps (though you can change this default to Google Maps).

Read more here: Microsoft’s Sneak Attack On Google – Forbes.com

Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 Out: Underwhelming

Microsoft have released IE 8 Beta 2 and so far it seems quite underwhelming.

As one reviewer put it:

It doesn’t crash my computer. It doesn’t render the Web unusable. But it certainly doesn’t work better than Firefox, Opera or Safari.

As for the much touted accelerators, they, too, underwhelm.

New Features

Accelerators: Accelerators let you efficiently complete your everyday browsing activities like mapping directions, translating words, emailing your friends, and more in just a few mouse clicks.

InPrivate Browsing: Browse the web without saving your history with Internet Explorer 8’s InPrivate Browsing. Now you can shop for that special gift with confidence knowing your family won’t
accidentally find out or use a shared computer without leaving a trace.

Web Slices: Keep up with changes to the sites you care about most. Add a Web Slice and you won’t have to go back to the same website again and again for updates on news, stock quotes, online auctions, weather, or even sports scores.

Search suggestions: Search smarter with detailed suggestions from your favorite search providers and browsing history. See visual previews and get suggested content topics while you type in the enhanced Instant Search Box.

SmartScreen Filter: New security features help to protect you against deceptive and malicious websites which can compromise your data, privacy and identity.

Could IE really compete for Firefox if it wasn’t installed by default on Windows? Will IE 8 turn around the bad impressions of IE7? Only time will tell.

Microsoft updates Windows XP Pro anti-piracy tool

Microsoft is starting to roll out a new version of its Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) software for Windows XP Pro, which the company describes as the “most pirated edition of Windows XP.” WGA is the software Microsoft uses to detect versions of Windows using fake or stolen license keys.

If you’re running Windows XP Pro, you’ll probably receive the new version through Windows Update soon. If you just can’t wait to find out if your operating system passes the test, you can also visit the direct download page.

The new version of WGA will work much like the anti-piracy software implemented in Windows Vista. Your PC will not be immediately disabled if it fails the WGA check. Rather when you login you’ll see a black desktop background instead of your background of choice. You can change the background, but every 60 minutes it will reset itself to black.

There will also be a warning notice that you cannot make go away unless you enter a valid Windows license key.

Read more here: Microsoft updates Windows XP Pro anti-piracy tool

(Via Download Squad.)