10 Useful Internet Explorer 8 Accelerators

Martin Brinkmann
Feb 25, 2009
Updated • Dec 9, 2012
Internet Explorer
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Accelerators are a new feature of Microsoft's upcoming web browser Internet Explorer 8 that have recently been ported to other web browsers like Firefox in the form of add-ons. Like the name implies Accelerators are supposed to speed up the web browsing experience. Not by squeezing another Megabit out of the pipe but by providing fast access to functions that would normally take longer to reach.

Internet Explorer 8 Accelerators help in the retrieval and manipulation of data on websites. It usually involves selected content on a website first and the accelerator to process the content afterwards. This can range from translation services to drawing a map of the location of the near restaurant you just discovered or checking the price of an item on a shopping site.

Whenever the user marks elements on a website that can be processed by installed Accelerators a blue icon appears next to the selected element. A click on that icon will provide access to all installed Accelerators that can be used to process the selected data.

If the user hovers his mouse over an accelerator a small overlay window will usually appear on the screen displaying the contents of the processed data, for example a map if an Internet Explorer 8 Accelerator has been selected that looks up addresses in maps. Some Internet Explorer 8 Accelerators on the other hand do not make use of the overlay.

1.Map on Live Maps - One of the default Internet Explorer 8 accelerators that comes preinstalled. It can be used to quickly lookup an address on Live Maps.

2. Find On eBay - Will look up the selected text on eBay displaying matching auctions.

3.Translate With Live Search - Another default Internet Explorer 8 Accelerator that can quickly translate selected text in the web browser.

4.>Weather.com - Look up weather information at weather.com.

5. Wikipedia Accelerator - Makes it possible to quickly look up information at the online encyclopedia Wikipedia.

6. Look up in Google News - Will look up the selected text in Google News.

7. Sent with Windows Live Hotmail - send selected information with an Windows Live Hotmail account.

8. Login Using BugmeNot - BugMeNot is a service that operates a database of public login credentials that can be used log into websites without registration.

9. Blogger - The Blogger Accelerator makes it easier to write about interesting stories discovered on the Internet.

10.Share With delicious - Share information easier with Delicious.

Update: Microsoft recently has changed the layout of the site. Visit the main page to get access to all existing Internet Explorer accelerators.

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Comments

  1. Anonymous said on January 24, 2012 at 5:01 pm
    Reply

    very helpful little article – i didn’t know what they were or what that annoying blue box was – my so called accelerators are slowing me down and now I can disable them without worry!

  2. Ankit Kashyap said on September 12, 2010 at 11:16 pm
    Reply

    One more IE8 Accelerator Here:
    http://www.mstechpatch.com/2010/09/ie8-accelerator-for-google-dictionary.html
    Its for Google dictionary. (Not an official product from Google)

  3. Vanillaman said on April 9, 2009 at 11:13 am
    Reply

    After all this time and Microsoft still have not corrected this age old problem.

    When I tried to install any IE add-on, I get the same annoying message telling me that “I must first install Internet Explorer”. This is despite that fact that it is Internet Explorer 8 that i am already using.

    What makes matters even more infuriating is that because Microsoft has the arrogant policy of refusing to engage with its customers, once I submit this report, I have no way of knowing when or if it will be fixed, rendering the entire point of submitting such reports as totally pointless.

  4. Ganesh said on February 25, 2009 at 10:40 pm
    Reply

    The link to “find on ebay” leads to yahoo maps :(

    1. Martin said on February 25, 2009 at 10:47 pm
      Reply

      fixed

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