The release of IE8 all about embracing open standards (CSS 2.1, most of HTML 4, parts of HTML 5, major parts of ECMAScript 3.1). How is Microsoft supposed to embrace open standards without releasing major upgrades to their products? How can Microsoft start embracing open standards without people complaining about too many versions of their software?
In my dreams? They'd do it the same way Apple did when they released Safari. "Here's our new official browser. It's not like any of the existing Mac browsers [1], but it's based on an open-source rendering engine and Steve Jobs likes it."
But, yeah, yeah, I hear you. That's a fantasy. Microsoft and their customers just do not work that way.
And my ire is indeed misplaced: Of Microsoft's three current browsers, IE8 is most likely the least of my problems. My problem is with IE6. I welcome anything that will help to further eliminate IE6 from my life, including IE8, Windows 7, and vigilante ninjas who sneak into people's houses at night with Firefox installers and stealthily upgrade their beige boxes.
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[1] Ironically, the best Mac browser of the time was IE.
I don't know the specifics, but there's no point in embracing an open standard if you just run hopscotch through the spec, picking and choosing what you'll implement.
