Microsoft next quarter plans to launch a consumer beta test version of its Internet Explorer (IE) 8 browser -- showcasing its upgraded compatibility with current standards.
The most obvious feature for consumers in IE8 Beta 2, as it's known, is likely to be the browser's new default rendering mode. The new mode will kick in for sites built using the most recently ratified Web standards -- a so-called "super standards" mode that the company agreed to support in March.
However, besides supporting and potentially encouraging use of these standards on the Web, the change may also force Web developers and administrators to make modifications to what could be many of their sites.
Consequently, the pending release of IE8 Beta 2 also aims to call attention to the impending change, ideally ensuring that systems administrators and Web designers make needed changes to their sites now.
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