It seems that although Chrome has given Internet Explorer a mean right hook after the opening bell of the first round, Internet Explorer is not down for the count. After reading today about the next version of Internet Explorer, IE 8.1, code named Eagle Eyes it is clear that Microsoft will not leave the browser space without a fight.
There are a lot of new features to discuss, but some of the ones that I am pleased about include:
Ability to run FireFox extensions (like FireBug and Remember the Milk)
A faster JavaScript engine, apparently borrowing some of the speediness of V8
Better Acid3 Performance (Open Standards ftw)
Multiple Browser Rendering Options (cross-browser testing without the need for tools like Litmus)
It’s nice to see competition coming back to a market that has been quite stagnant over the course of the last few years. Only time will tell who will win the new royal rumble between Firefox 3.1 (and it’s new JS engine Trace Monkey), Safari 4.0, Chrome 1.0, and now IE 8.1.