IE 8 Passes Acid2 Test

notamicrosoftlover writes to tell us Channel9 is reporting that Internet Explorer 8 has correctly rendered the Acid2 page in "standards mode". "With respect to standards and interoperability, our goal in developing Internet Explorer 8 is to support the right set of standards with excellent implementations and do so without breaking the existing web. This second goal refers to the lessons we learned during IE 7. IE7's CSS improvements made IE more compliant with some standards and less compatible with some sites on the web as they were coded. Many sites and developers have done special work to work well with IE6, mostly as a result of the evolution of the web and standards since 2001 and the level of support in the various versions of IE that pre-date many standards. We have a responsibility to respect the work that sites have already done to work with IE. We must deliver improved standards support and backwards compatibility so that IE8 (1) continues to work with the billions of pages on the web today that already work in IE6 and IE7 and (2) makes the development of the next billion pages, in an interoperable way, much easier. We'll blog more, and learn more, about this during the IE8 beta cycle." There's also a video interview regarding IE8 development on Channel9."

So let's geek this out

[smittyoneeach]

If it takes until version 8 to support Acid 2, or 2^3,
then, when Acid 3 comes out, we can expect conformance by IE27?

Appropriate Tag

[DarkHelmet]

I think the holyshit tag would be appropriate here.

I bet this means...

[Anonymous Coward]

"standards mode" IE will only be available for vista.

ACID

[eneville]

Acid test? Ok... but can it withstand a chair?

What, No Comments?

[sexconker]

What have we seen recently?

The people behind the Phantom actually releasing a product
A Duke Nukem Forever teaser
Dell promoting Linux
IE8 passing Acid2

What's next?
Dogs living with cats??

Dec 19?

[Bill, Shooter of Bul]

So Taco wants me to believe that:
A) duke nukum might actually see the light of day
B) ie 8 passes Acid 2

Its not april fools day, according to the snow outside. Is Taco trying to create another practical joke day: Dec 19?

Thats so awesomely random, but it sort of upstages my plans of trying to make Dec 20 th a joke day. Oh well pretended to be surprised when crazy things happen tomorrow as well.

In other news...

[calebt3]

IE8's release date has been pushed back 3 months.

So they've realized how untrusted they are...

[MozeeToby]

Am I the only one who thinks it's hilarious how thorough the author is in proving that this is really true. There's a screenshot of the test, video, and even a screenshot of the checkin.

It's almost like think we don't trust them or something.

Re:ACID

[Anonymous Coward]

is real doll going out of business?

Re:What, No Comments?

[bigstrat2003]

Dogs living with cats??

Dogs and cats, living together... mass hysteria!!!

Guess which mode isn't the default?

[spyrochaete]

Internet Explorer 8 has correctly rendered the Acid2 page in "standards mode".

Guess which mode isn't the default?

Re:What, No Comments?

[pelrun]

Mass hysteria!

How Long Have I Been Asleep? How Long Have I Been

[Add_Water]

asleep? So, I get home really tired and go take a nap... Then, I wake up, log on slashdotm, and that's the headlines I read: - Duke Nukem Forever Teaser Released - IE 8(!) Passes Acid2 Test(!!!!) I'm sure there's an twilight zone episode just like that!

Re:Cool.

[pushing-robot]

Between IE passing a strict CSS test and 3DRealms planning to release Duke Nukem Forever, I'm wondering what alternate universe I woke up in this morning.

I guess I'd better check Google's top execs for goatees again.

Oh crap. [google.com]

Translation

[Anonymous Coward]

Now that we broke the web with our own version of standards, we're going to break it again with the real standards.

Since you had to...

[Anonymous Coward]

...google for how to take a screenshot on linux... I do not think I trust your findings... Ad hominem FTW!!!.. ;P ... j/k

Re:Appropriate Tag

[sootman]

How cyclical: first there were tags... then there were people using tags for comments... I've seen tags that said 'dontcommentintags'... and now there are comments suggesting how to tag. :-)

Re:"standards mode"?

[Anonymous Coward]

Less cheap shots at Microsoft??? You must be new here!

Re:What, No Comments?

[Starteck81]

What have we seen recently? The people behind the Phantom actually releasing a product A Duke Nukem Forever teaser Dell promoting Linux IE8 passing Acid2 What's next? Dogs living with cats??

I vote for Gates and Torvalds becoming roommates. Talk about reality TV for geeks.

Hmmm

[gordgekko]

IE7 is demonstrably more secure -- at least on Vista and IE8 can pass Acid. What will /.ers complain about next? The UI?

Re:What, No Comments?

[aitikin]

Better yet, Gates, Torvalds, Jobs, and Woz all rooming together. Gates would be the asshole control, Jobs would be the creative manipulator, Torvalds would be the one finding ways around all the agreed house rules, and Woz would sit there and play segway polo.

Embrace, Extend... Adopt standards?

[jnadke]

Hrrrmm... I always thought Microsoft's philosophy was "Embrace, Extend, Destroy".

But now they're adopting standards?

Either:
1) Someone spiked my coffee.
2) I'm dreaming.
or
3) Steve Ballmer hasn't heard about this yet.

Re:Dec 19?

[BlueVelvet]

Crazier things are happening *now*. I have a date tonight. With a girl! :3

Re:Remember kids...

[Nimey]

* aside from the part about shooting the Mac team--I'm (pretty) sure that didn't happen.

Pretty hard to fire a chair from a gun, so probably not.

Re:So let's geek this out

[davester666]

Hopefully, it's more than just:

if (url == acid2 test page)
    display jpg of correct acid2 rendering
else ...

Why aren't other browsers standards compliant?

[Anonymous Coward]

With all the puling about IE not being compliant with the arbitary standards set by a bunch of MS-haters, I've always been amazed at how poorly non-MS browsers do about conforming to IE standards.

Guess there's a little bit of a double standard going on, but of course all the MS-haters would rather complain than think about what's best for their customers. If you want to refer to people leeching free software as customers.

I'll get in trouble for this...

[toddhunter]

But I have hacked the IE8 code base. Here is the code they have added to pass ACID2: if (url.equals("http://www.webstandards.org/files/acid2/test.html#top")) { draw("smileyFace"); }

Re:Yawn

[msuarezalvarez]

So you would be the grammer-nazi in this situation, I guess?

Re:So let's geek this out

[TedTschopp]

Actually it all happened when someone cornered Bill Gates about how the IE team hadn't been communicating like he had promised they would, and how they were behind in their deliverables.

I would have loved to be in the Room when the call came in.

"Please hold for Bill Gates."
--CRAP, what did I do now--
"Hey, Junior, why did you make me look like an ass in front of the whole world?"
"Ummm..."
"SHUT UP AND DON'T TALK. I just got out of an interview, and they asked me why you were are not communicating. Don't answer that. You know how I hate interviews. You also know how I hate looking like an ass. You also know I told the world we would release IE8 in early 2008. So what gives. Do I need to fire you all and rebrand a version of FireFox as IE8? Cause I'm this close to doing it. Its people like you who give this company a bad name. Now stop wasting my time, start communicating, and the next time we talk you had better have numbers on how many people are switching from IE7 to IE8. If not, please be aware that the next group guy you talk to here at Microsoft will be our security guards escorting you off property. Oh, and by the way, Channel 9 will be there in the morning. The marketing department will be there in the afternoon, and you have been registered in the company communication 101 classes that are offered the first week of every month in Redmond. I've already spoken to the trainer and she is looking forward to working with you each month for the next year. I also what you to be aware that all this work will not impact our deliver date of 1st Quarter 2008.
"Why are you still on the phone. I thought you had code to check in."
-click-

Lesson: Never make the richest guy in the world look like a liar. Especially if he is signing your paycheck.

Re:IE7 = WinME of browsers?

[torry_loon]

Or should that be IE7 = Vista of browsers? Prettier interface, annoying changes to the menus/toolbars, took years to be released and offers minor improvements over the previous version.

Re:What, No Comments?

[inode_buddha]

What's next? Getting laid.

Re:Cool.

[MrNaz]

Hahaha! [slashdot.org]

(Sorry, I have nothing more to say.)

Re:More like this...

[Minwee]

But it makes a _perfectly_ straight line, and that can't be an accident.

Re:Cool.

[foreverdisillusioned]

I'm wondering if it's not too late to convert to Christianity. Which is this one, the third seal or the fourth? Have I missed the rapture?

Re:Good News/Bad News

[tkw954]

Good News: Web developers will finally be able to develop a page once, according to standards, and have it work on all major browser ...

Bad news: that page has to be the Acid2 Test.

Re:I'll get in trouble for this...

[Anonymous Coward]

where you can have a proper string class(Java is teh suxor)

lol, ignorance.

First of all, nowhere do I see your example code explicitly using a std::string object. You use a literal char array, which is far from the same thing. I suppose it's possible that "url" could be a std::string, in which case you're just relying on the fact that the "==" operator has been overloaded to compare the contents of the string against "const char*" arguments for equivalence. If you were to write your own string class without overloading that operator, you'd find that it doesn't behave like you'd expect it to.

Second, I assume that your dig at Java is due to the fact that you need to use ".equals" to compare string objects for equivalence rather than "==". This is because all variables that store classes in Java are references, and the "==" operator compares the identity of the reference, not the content of the object.

Re:So let's geek this out

[McFadden]

Forgive me. I always thought jokes were supposed to contain humor.

Re:So let's geek this out

[Zencyde]

You must be new here. :D

Re:On further investigation...

[Flashbck]

Figures...Microsoft changed the Acid2 test in order to pass it and now claims that they are the only ones who pass the test now.

In other news, what the hell is going on in the world? First Duke Nukem Forever looks like it will happen and now IE8 passes Acid2?!?!? Am I in bizarro world?

Re:So let's geek this out

[glens]

What's a "low UID"?

Re:On further investigation...

[Tony Hoyle]

That was actually my first thought

"IE 8 Passes Acid 2 test"

"In other news, Acid 2 test updated to be 'more standards compliant', and hosted on microsoft.com"