We will have a Microsoft Surface unit on demo at TechEd next week, so if your coming along make sure you have your greasy fingers ready to try it out!

Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 is now available for download. I started using it this morning and have been impressed with the speed. It has a whole lot of new features including Compatibility View (handy for those sites designed for older browsers), Web Slices, Search Suggestions, Accelerators to name a few.



It has some Security changes which include the SmartScreen Filter, Cross Site Scripting (XSS) Filter, Domain Highlighting and Data Execution Prevention.

One feature I like is the Live Maps Accelerator. You select a address on a page and right click to select the ‘Search with Live Maps’ to see the Map on the same page. I used this to check the location of a restaurant I was checking out.

Some important Technical Resources are:
How to get your site ready for Internet Explorer 8
The IE8 Beta 2 Technology Overview for the Enterprise - provides a great overview of all the new features in Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 and is written for IT Professionals and other technical users.
The IE8 Beta 2 FAQ for Businesses - answers common questions from IT Decision Makers and IT Professionals about Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2.
Slipstreaming IE8 into Vista and Server 2008 images - If you manage the desktop images for your organization, slipstream saves you time by simplifying the task of adding Internet Explorer 8 and any IE updates.

Dont forget to subscribe to the Internet Explorer 8 blog for more updates.

Do you still remember using Internet Explorer 1? I love the headline “Microsoft Welcomes You To The Internet!”

We have launched a preview of our Social Bookmarking application on TechNet and MSDN for you to start using. Social Bookmarking is a way to store your bookmarks on the web, share your bookmarks with others and explore bookmarks stored by other users.

 

Some of the new features to look forward to in the official launch (early September) is:

Something cool and new for those Cricket fans out there is a new Cricinfo Windows Vista Sidebar Gadget. It has 3 tabs Live Scores, News and Photos. Handy little gadget to keep up to date with your favourite team and the upcoming Australian Summer of Cricket.

 

Thanks to Nick Hodge for the heads up about the release of Photosynth. This is one piece of amazing technology. Have a look at what Nick has conjured up with Photosynth with his photos of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. You can now do the same and make your own.



Then Peter Ulm sends us a email letting us know about the integration of Photosynth and Virtual Earth, The fun never stops does it! All the information is over at Chris Pendleton’s blog.



You can see what Ill be doing in the weekend!