Exclusive sources close to the Internet Explorer development team are reporting that latest internal builds of IE8 have deactivated the new 'super standards compliant' mode. Worse still, this change is likely to be permanent if hushed proposals at the software giant are approved.
Current beta releases of IE8 sport the new Webslices feature allowing users to subscribe to a portion of a web page in a manner similar to RSS. Senior executives at Microsoft have suggested that focusing on innovation within the consumer browser market in similar ways would provide a greater return for shareholders than attempting to improve standards support in the popular browser.
Going forward, it is unclear if this paradigm shift will continue to the development of IE9 or if this decision solely affects the current product development cycle for IE8. Our sources declined to name individuals involved in the discussion, but an announcement is expected on the public development blog imminently.
Minor CSS changes unrelated to standards support are still expected when the new browser version ships later this year. The introduction of the blink parameter for the text-decoration CSS property, a change described as "important for the dynamic nature of the web", is one of the enhancements more controversial among the community.
Happy April Fools :)
Current beta releases of IE8 sport the new Webslices feature allowing users to subscribe to a portion of a web page in a manner similar to RSS. Senior executives at Microsoft have suggested that focusing on innovation within the consumer browser market in similar ways would provide a greater return for shareholders than attempting to improve standards support in the popular browser.
Going forward, it is unclear if this paradigm shift will continue to the development of IE9 or if this decision solely affects the current product development cycle for IE8. Our sources declined to name individuals involved in the discussion, but an announcement is expected on the public development blog imminently.
Minor CSS changes unrelated to standards support are still expected when the new browser version ships later this year. The introduction of the blink parameter for the text-decoration CSS property, a change described as "important for the dynamic nature of the web", is one of the enhancements more controversial among the community.
Happy April Fools :)

I think that line answers your question
I think that line answers your question
So shoving more proprietary software like ActiveX and Silverlight down our throats instead of being standards complaint. Sounds like the good old Microsoft we love to hate. I can't wait to see what technology they roll out that will be incompatible with Firefox and my Mac.
At least now we have a healthy competition between Opera and WebKit. Just have to wait for Mozilla to jump into the Acid3 fight.
Definitely fake...
Definitely fake...
Yeap. Posting April Fool's articles before the actual day... Fail.
Definitely fake...
Yeap. Posting April Fool's articles before the actual day... Fail.
Its been the 1st April here for a while now. (New Zealand)
I think that line answers your question
So shoving more proprietary software like ActiveX and Silverlight down our throats instead of being standards complaint. Sounds like the good old Microsoft we love to hate. I can't wait to see what technology they roll out that will be incompatible with Firefox and my Mac.
Linux is a serious thread to Windows, but with a very long delay of getting some sort of Adobe Flash working in Linux, and the incompatability of ActiveX and the newer Silverlight, Linux is not gaining any foothold in the "I just want the website to work" market.
And quite frankly, the major websites (CNN, eBay, Google, ESPN, you name it) are all making SURE they are compatible with what the majority of the market uses, which is Windows with Internet Explorer. FireFox is the best alternative for Internet Explorer, but quite frankly: ActiveX makes Microsoft sell more copies of Windows when you face it.
Not that you would want to, but try to download a hotfix from Microsoft that requires "validation" from a Linux or Mac workstation.
Yes, the shareholders are boss. Welcome to the Capitalist States of America
Thanks for confusing people though, that's always appreciated.
Thanks for confusing people though, that's always appreciated.
i agree, a few months from now some people will keep spreading the news that ie8 will not be standards compliant because it was said on neowin. This is a lame joke...
I'm aware alright, it's just that I find the whole subject a bit pot of bull****. 30 timezones? Give me a break!
And quite frankly, the major websites (CNN, eBay, Google, ESPN, you name it) are all making SURE they are compatible with what the majority of the market uses, which is Windows with Internet Explorer. FireFox is the best alternative for Internet Explorer, but quite frankly: ActiveX makes Microsoft sell more copies of Windows when you face it.
Not that you would want to, but try to download a hotfix from Microsoft that requires "validation" from a Linux or Mac workstation.
Yes, the shareholders are boss. Welcome to the Capitalist States of America
Are you sure no Silverlight for Linux? The Mono developers are working on Moonlight for a while now, and I'd say they're seriously getting somewhere... And for flash: I'm using ubuntu 8.04 beta right now and flash 'just works', but I've been using Debian etch as well and on that pc it didn't take more than installing it either.
And the hotfixes are indeed completely useless if you're not using Windows.
Yeah, **** Earth being a rotating sphere and all that, seriously!
(P.S. that was sarcasm. I have to say this because otherwise you'd probably take me seriously judging your current level of apparent education and intelligence.)
Yeah, **** Earth being a rotating sphere and all that, seriously!
(P.S. that was sarcasm. I have to say this because otherwise you'd probably take me seriously judging your current level of apparent education and intelligence.)
Post Scriptum: that was sarcasm. I have to say this because otherwise you'd probably take me seriously judging your current level of apparent education and intelligence.
Nice try winding yourself out of your own bull****.
The giveaway is that blink on text-decoration is a valid css element which is defined in the W3C standards
The giveaway is that blink on text-decoration is a valid css element which is defined in the W3C standards
Yes, it's a joke. Blink hopefully will never return.
Current beta releases of IE8 sport the new Webslices feature allowing users to subscribe to a portion of a web page in a manner similar to RSS. Senior executives at Microsoft have suggested that focusing on innovation within the consumer browser market in similar ways would provide a greater return for shareholders than attempting to improve standards support in the popular browser.
Going forward, it is unclear if this paradigm shift will continue to the development of IE9 or if this decision solely affects the current product development cycle for IE8. Our sources declined to name individuals involved in the discussion, but an announcement is expected on the public development blog imminently.
Minor CSS changes unrelated to standards support are still expected when the new browser version ships later this year. The introduction of the blink parameter for the text-decoration CSS property, a change described as "important for the dynamic nature of the web", is one of the enhancements more controversial among the community.
Webslices huh? Sounds to me like WebClip that OSX/Safari already has that works in conjunction with dashboard.
Sounds like Channels + ActiveDesktop that IE had like 10 years ago, when Safari wasn't even born. Fail.
"The introduction of the blink parameter for the text-decoration CSS property, a change described as "important for the dynamic nature of the web", is one of the enhancements more controversial among the community."
My understanding was that the decision was not made at a technical level, and so they're probably going to have to change all that stuff now.
A story like this can indeed come from the Neowin staff due to sources that don't wish to be disclosed, but news of this kind would need a proper source even if not on this day.
It has to be an April Fool's joke. Yes, of course a story can come from the staff, but this one would need a proper source in either case.
The Neowin Staff user account isn't anything new, we've used it on a few occasions in the past where multiple team members have contributed to the story. I didn't write the story but I'm technically the one that posted it.
IE8 will render pages using the new standards compliant mode by default. A meta tag will be needed on webpages that do not conform to standards to ensure they display in IE7 compat mode. As it should be.
p.s. I'm assuming this story is bogus since it has no source and it just turned April 1st here in the UK
/me logs off 'teh interweb' till wednesday.
Not everyone lives where you live, do they?
Just is just a bold out of the blue claim and I believe most Neowin Admins/Mods are European and its April 1st there
Must be getting prepped up for Unofficial BS'ing Day, eh?
Although, generically speaking, Linux is the obvious option (wouldn't it be grand if it were based on "Darwin"?), Sun and Novell have each been mentioned in several internal communications. There have been no independent confirmations of that rumor. One may find this evolution of Windows an obvious step given the recent announcement of Wine approaching the coveted "1.0" mark release. However one has to wonder... is that becauase of independent developer acheivements, or because of slight-of-hand contributions made by Microsoft in order to facilitate this upcoming milestone for Wine and thus cement Windows' position as the operating system of the future?
The core of Windows 8 will reportedly be 64 bit only, will be fully virtualized and will also be available as a free download. This download supposedly will allow one to run applications based on .NET managed code locally as well as numerous basic system management programs and Win32 programs. However, if you want any additional or advanced functionality such as Windows domain membership, advanced networking such as a web or email server, gaming with hardware-accelerated graphics (a.k.a. DirectX), advanced text editing: Office suite, or running other non-Microsoft approved applications such as those freely available for *nix, or virtualizing another operating system such as XP, Windows 2000, Linux, SunOS, etc... sadly, those functions will only be available with a subscription. You won't even be able to run a third party virtualization program under Windows 8 without a subscription- though it has been rumored that the 'subscription' will be paid to the 3rd party, not Microsoft, which I find a bit difficult to comprehend how that will work, but one can only wonder.
While many (ok, at least 1) feel this would be a prudent venture for Microsoft given the apparently slow but steady inroads made by operating systems such as the various flavors of Linux, there are at least as many people who feel that this endorsement of free software is nothing more than a slap in the face of the countless others who have contributed countless hours to open-source software and as many more (ok, at least 5) who think Windows should remain proprietary at every level.
Many questions have been left unanswered. Therefore we can only speculate, but if this is true, it could be yet another historic moment in computing history. Oddly enough, it's Microsoft making innovation... yet again.
Either would be ironic, no?
It's called that shiny little red X at the top right. Or that glossy little red pearl on the top left. Or a gray X on the top right. Click it and your problems are solved. If that's not enough, severe the blue cable behind your computer. Let others have their laugh.
(yes, even if some of the jokes are lame)
Still, knowing Microsoft, I wouldn't put it past them to do something like this.
It's an April Fool's joke.
I just didn't want to spoil the fun. ^_^
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