In any event, if you're used to IE 7, IE 8 is more of the same from a user interface perspective, and will be quite familiar territory. If you prefer the bare-bones browser chrome found in browsers like Firefox and Chrome, IE 8 may seem a bit busy, especially if you dutifully installed the entire Windows Live Essentials suite (see my review) and its bundled browser toolbar. Before you dismiss IE 8 entirely on the basis of UI clutter, I'd offer up two thoughts. First, give it a chance: You may discover that the padded upper portion of the IE 8 application window can actually be used in quite productive ways. Second, even if you don't find that to be the case, know that the IE 8 interface is pretty malleable. You can remove virtually all of the top-end UI and come away with a very Spartan looking browser. In fact, stripped bare in this fashion, it reminds me of Microsoft Word 2007 when you hide the ribbon. In other words, IE 8 can pretty much be whatever you need it to be.