Installing Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1

Much the same experience as with IE7: straightforward with no dramas.

After downloading it, I ran the IE8-WindowsXP-x86-ENU.exe.

Extracting Files

Small window with progress bar tells you various files are being extracted.

Before the installer starts, it unpacks its suitcase and gets comfy.

Install Windows Internet Explorer

First page of the installer.

A polite and spacious window greets you much like in the IE7 installer.

Please read the *click*

In big bold uppercase text, the license starts: MICROSOFT PRE-RELEASE SOFTWARE LICENSE TERMS.

Nobody reads the license. Interestingly, this installer has 2 buttons with no checkboxes or radio buttons:

Aside from erroneously using sentence case instead of title case, I like this simplification. Perhaps the IE8 UI will actually make sense and work properly!

Get Updates

A big, bold, ticked checkbox is labelled “Install updates”. It is followed by 2 paragraphs of explanatory text and then a link.

Still feels weird that upgrading a web browser involves installing updates whilst installing the new browser. Why can you opt out from installing them?

Installing Windows Internet Explorer 8...

A non-bulleted list of steps, with a progress bar that doesn’t show the progress being made. Items are ticked off from the list. Progress bar remains the same, a few bars whizzing from left to right repeatedly.

Would be nice if the progress bar actually showed the progress which had been made so far. Looks a bit squished with the list so close and a big empty space below.

The line of bold text beneath the progress bar says the same thing as the bold item in the list. It just uses more words to do so.

Installation is Complete

You must restart your computer before using Internet Explorer 8 to ensure that all files are updated.

Although much criticised, restarting after a major software update is OK to me. If it can be avoided that is better, though.

Now it’s time to start using IE8b1!