From my ZDNet colleague Mary Jo Foley:
“Even Apple — with a fanbase so loyal that many would throw their iPods and iPhones off a bridge if CEO Steve Jobs told them to — is coming to realize that it’s inappropriate to answer legitimate questions and complaints with silence.”
And just to keep a little balance… The topic of Mary Jo’s post is Microsoft’s marketing effort for Windows Vista, about which she notes,:
Whether you think — from a technology standpoint — Windows Vista finally is the product it should have been when Microsoft released it to manufacturing in November 2006, it’s plain, even to the most loyal Softie, that the marketing side of the Windows unit has been lagging. (I’d like to use a stronger word or two here, but ZDNet is a family blog network.)
I’m working on a big project that will be posted this afternoon at ZDNet. Stay tuned.
OK, all done: Go read my first look at IE8 Beta 2:
Internet Explorer 8 gets a massive makeover
I’ve also put together a gallery of screenshots to give you a sense of what’s new.
All in all, it’s much more than I expected.
Ed Bott 
Can’t wait to see it.
Ed, great article on ZDnet. Downloaded the beta this afternoon, and unlike Beta 1, I think I will keep this one installed. I too have been surprised at all of the small little touches that IE8 has undergone in the past 6 mos.
I just wish it was out by now, instead of being a Beta…
Ed, is there any way to set IE8 beta 2 to open favorites in a new tab. Just downloaded the new version and realized why I had gone back to IE7 with IE7Pro after beta 1.
@Brad: You can use the favorites star (on the left top of the internet window). It allows you to right click or Ctrl + Click to open up in a new tab. I don’t see a way to do it from the Favorites menu in the menu bar however
Thanks Dan, but I was looking for a way to always open favorites in a new tab with a single left click.
I LOVE the idea of color-coded tabs and duplicate tabs. As the parent of 3 teenagers, the Private browsing will be locked off.
Will IE 8 come through Automatic Updates? Do you recommend we download the Beta version now?
it seem that some bloggers and website reviewers is saying not to install beta 2. I’ve personally tried it in XP and had no major issue. What’s your take on beta 2 ED Should user install Beta 2?
I downloaded it, rebooted, and had problems from the start. I’ve rebooted and things are still buggy. It can’t find Comcast.net. There are fuzzy fonts on various pages. Things aren’t lined up correctly on most pages. Ed, on this page, the Comments were missing after each entry until I moved my cursor over that part of the page.
I’ll be answering the beta question in a post at ZDNet later today.
Mary, click the Compatibility button in the browser address bar to see this site rendered correctly. I need to add some code to it to make it appear properly in IE8. And remember, it’s a beta!
Uninstalled the update. Whew, it feels much better now. I’ll wait for all the bugs to be worked out.