FBW, yes, IE8 is Beta, came out this month. Thanks for confirming that. I like some of its features such as the ability to restore the previous IE session.
It is also supposed to be less of a resource hog although it has its moments.
When I open Favourites, then open a folder, the mouse stutters as I move down the list. I also get an occasional Java exception. Some pluggins needed updating. Give Google their due, they got an update to Google Toolbar out PDQ. It also has some interesting features.
On installing it created a series of Microsoft shortcuts (of course) but more interestingly a series of Orange shortcuts - orange is my secondary email ISP.
On balance it looks good.