First, re. IE8 I recommend taking a wait and see attitude. There is no reason to rush into this. Most will probably get it accidentally one day through Microsoft Updates. That's the way most people got to IE7, which IMHO is nothing to write home about.
The second topic within this topic is Google's continuing attempt to popularize their own browser, Chrome. I tried an early version and uninstalled it after a couple of days. I imagine that one day, but not soon, Google, with its awesome technical savvy, will get Chrome to the point where it will serve nicely as an IE or Firefox replacement, but as above with IE8, there is no reason to rush and make any commitment to Chrome. There is no harm, however, in trying it. It's an easy download and install, and it's easy to uninstall as well, if/when you decide that's what you want to do.
The author of this article on pcworld.com has some comments about Chrome.
Google's Chrome 2.0: First Impressions
As for me, I'll take a wait and see position on this one as well as on IE8.
