Internet Explorer 8 pre-release

The big software news early this week is a Release Candidate for the imminent new update to Microsoft's powerhouse browser Internet Explorer. IE8 will include a wide variety of new features and tweaks, including: Web Slices, which allows users to add frequently checked sections of their favorite sites to their favorites toolbar; a new private browsing feature that disables browsing history, cookies, cache, and other saved data (it's already a feature in Safariand available via add-ons in Mozilla Firefox andInternet Explorer 7); and Accelerators, which are shortcuts for common browsing tasks like mapping addresses or translating text. The release candidate of IE8 doesn't add too many new features to the mix, but it is much more stable than earlier beta versions of the browser. Try it out yourself, or read more about IE8 RC1 in the Download.com blog. Or take a walk through the new browser in pictures in our slide show. Read more about Internet Explorer 8 RC1 Take a slide-show tour of Internet Explorer 8 RC1 Visit Download.com

Peter Butler Senior Content Manager, CNET Download.com