Internet Explorer has been designed to make real-world web browsing easier, and it's packed with useful features such as easy web searching, one-click access to Windows Live services and Web Slices to keep on top of your favourite sites. But it's capable of even more.
There's a huge range of accelerators, add-ons and toolbars that make Internet Explorer 8 even more useful. From social networking to shopping, document handling to downloading, these ten add-ons mean much better browsing. They're all free, and you'll find all ten - and many more - at www.ieaddons.com.
1. Research and shop for products
You know that shopping online can save you a packet, but how do you find the best deals - and make sure the product you're looking at is worth the cash? The Research and Shop For Products accelerator enables you to highlight a product name and look it up on the shopping engine Ciao!, which features unbiased user reviews and a constantly updated list of the best online prices.
2. Access your bookmarks anywhere
Foxmarks was about to change its name to Xmarks as we went to press, but no matter what it's called it's still very handy. The add-on stores your Favorites on the Internet, which means you can access them from any internet-enabled computer that you install Foxmarks on. It's particularly useful if you tend to use shared computers, if you have multiple PCs at home or if you'd like to use the same Favorites at home and at work.
3. Login quicker
One of the more annoying things on the Internet is when sites demand you register just so you can read an article or forum post. If you'd rather not hand over your details, BugMeNot can provide usernames and passwords that should let you in.
4. Get Facebook on your toolbar
You can use Web Slices to stay up to date with your Facebook friends' status updates, but the OneRiot toolbar takes things a step further by adding notification buttons below the Address Bar. These enable you to visit the various bits of Facebook (Home, Profile, Friends and so on) but more usefully they also let you see when somebody's sent you a friend request, whether you've any new messages in your inbox or whether anybody's tagged you in a photo. A version for MySpace is also available.
5. Get connetced
If like us you're on loads of different social networks, Yoono can save you a great deal of time and effort. In much the same way that multi-chat software enables you to connect to different instant messaging services simultaneously, Yoono can connect you to Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Flickr and FriendFeed, as well as AOL Instant Messenger, Google Talk, MSN Messenger and Yahoo. You can also share content with other Yoono users, for example by tagging web pages with "like" or "hate".
6. Book a holiday
Booking a holiday? Save yourself a lot of time, money and heartbreak by using this accelerator to look up resort or hotel names on TripAdvisor, where holidaymakers and travellers tell the truth about the places they've stayed - good and bad.
7. Define anything
If you've ever encountered an acronym and wondered what on Earth it meant, the Define Acronym accelerator will make your online life much more comprehensible. Simply highlight the acronym, select the accelerator and see definitions from the fields of IT, government, science, business and even slang.
8. Make the web sexy
Ever wished the Internet looked more like it does in Hollywood movies? With Cooliris, it does. Once you've installed the browser add-on it's just a matter of carrying out a web search at www.cooliris.com - but instead of text links, you'll see a wall of images that you can sweep through, zoom in and generally muck about with. It's fascinating, gorgeous and makes us feel that we're living in the future.
9. Go Pro
Don't let the number seven fool you: most of IE7Pro's features already work in Internet Explorer 8, and the program's next incarnation will be called IEPro to reflect that. As we went to press you needed to manually Enable IE7Pro from Internet Explorer's Manage Add-ons screen, but that should be fixed by the time you read this. So is it worth it? Oh yes. IE7Pro blocks adverts, enables you to navigate the Web by waggling your mouse and provides handy features such as closing tabs by double-clicking on them.
10. Search visually
If you're a shopping addict on a tight budget, ASOS.com's search plugin will be right up your street. Simply use the arrow in the Search box to select ASOS, type in the kind of item you're looking for, and you'll see stacks of results including pictures and prices. It's a simple and very useful tool, so expect lots of other retailers to offer similar search tools for their own shops.
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