Biz & IT —

Is Internet Explorer 8 in the works?

Internet Explorer 7 has only been out for three months, but rumor has it that …

Who needs Internet Explorer 7 when you can just wait for Internet Explorer 8? According to ActiveWin, Microsoft has already been working diligently on Internet Explorer 7's successor, and there are no plans for the team to stop for a service pack. The Internet Explorer development team will supposedly have the next version ready to go out the door within the next two years.

One Microsoft official at CES has told ActiveWin.com that work has already begun for IE 8, the next version of Internet Explorer, and we can expect to see a final product within 18-24 months. In addition, there are reportedly no plans for an interim service pack, but rather focus completely on the next version, which will compete even more directly with Firefox.

ActiveWin's report is completely plausible, but we weren't able to verify the rumor. Instead, a Microsoft spokesperson told Ars that the company is not prepared to discuss future iterations of the browser.

Microsoft is committed to Internet Explorer and is actively working on the next version of the browser. We are excited about the positive reception Internet Explorer 7 has received and are currently looking at market feedback and customer needs as we work on future versions. However we are not commenting on future plans at this time.

How do you feel about Microsoft skipping out on service packs for Internet Explorer 7 and jumping straight into Internet Explorer 8? As long as the browser is kept as secure as possible, I can't see why that would be a problem. If Microsoft is listening, I'd like to see Internet Explorer 8 be a little more developer-friendly. I use Firefox because of all the wonderful Extensions, but I would consider switching back to Internet Explorer if Microsoft had something even close to comparable. I will say that Add-Ons are definitely a step in the right direction, though.

Channel Ars Technica