March 24 - 4:30pm EDT   With the release of version 3.1 of Safari for both Mac OS X and Windows, Apple’s browser has grabbed bragging rights for the fastest, most compatible, and fullest featured browser on any platform. Given these claims, Safari 3.1 seems like the hands-down winner. Since Safari is free, Mac OS X and Windows users have nothing to lose by trying Safari. The real question is whether Safari lives up to its extravagant claims. [full story]

March 5 - 6:40pm EST   Microsoft has released Internet Explorer 8 (IE 8) beta, a test version of the company's free Web browser that will compete for dominance with Apple's Safari browser and Firefox. IE 8 features 'Activities,' or contextual services that provide quick access to a service -- such as 'look up' or 'send' -- from any Web page. Activities for example could allow a user to select the address of a restaurant and display an in-place view of the map using a favorite map service. [full story]

December 19 - 10:45pm EST   Microsoft recently announced that it will support Acid2 and other industry standards in Internet Explorer 8, bringing the browser up to date with modern standards for displaying complex web code. Following in the footsteps of Safari and Firefox, which have been able to make use of the code for quite some time, Microsoft's IE development team calls the progress "a milestone". While the Acid2 test isn't an official release from a true web standards conglomerate, it is a fairly accurate test for verifying compatibility with W3C HTML and CSS 2.0 code. [full story]

December 14 - 2:25pm EST   The next version of Microsoft's mobile OS beyond Windows Mobile 6.1 will be the first to directly tackle advancements brought about by the iPhone, according to statements the company has made at the recent Mobius conference and echoed by Engadget. The unnamed update will effectively port a desktop version of Internet Explorer to the handset environment to render web pages in a largely accurate manner similar to that of Apple's mobile Safari browser. Programs for managing music, photos, and other content will also be made easier to use than current incarnations. [full story]

December 13 - 8:45am EST   Browser developer Opera today announced that it has filed a formal complaint against Microsoft with the European Commission. Along with unnamed industry supporters, Opera has alleged that the Windows developer continues to abuse its monopoly in operating systems by tying Internet Explorer to Windows as well as consciously ignoring calls for the browser to use certain widespread web standards. The complaint would have Microsoft unbundle Internet Explorer from Windows and force the Redmond, Washington-based firm to render sites according to common web practices, ensuring that pages have a consistent look regardless of the browser. [full story]