The Best Activities & WebSlices for IE8

Are you running the beta of IE8? With all the new features, like WebSlices, Activities, and the new Favorites Bar, there is a lot to see and try. So, if you want to get your IE8 Beta up to speed with only the best of the new features, look no further - here are the best add-ons for IE8:

1. Me.dium's Activity for IE8: With the Me.dium Activity for IE8, you can right-click on a web page or highlight text and right-click, then choose "Discover with Me.dium." You'll then be recommended new pages around your selection based on what other Me.dium users are surfing right now, in real-time. (Stay tuned for a Me.dium WebSlice, coming soon)
2. Internet Buzz on StumbleUpon: This add-on is a WebSlice that shows you the hottest sites on StumbleUpon right now. To subscribe to a WebSlice, click on the purple icon and then click "Add." You can then click on the WebSlice on your Favorites bar and see a list of thumbnails and links to the currently "most Stumbled" web sites.
3. eBay Search Activity & WebSlice: OK, technically this is 2 add-ons, but each of these are great. The eBay Search Activity lets you highlight text on any web page and then hover over "eBay Search" to see active listings for that item. The eBay WebSlice lets you monitor your favorite eBay items and auctions from IE8's Favorites Bar.
4. Facebook WebSlice: To access this WebSlice, just log into Facebook and then click on the purple WebSlice icon on your Favorites Bar to see your Facebook friends status updates. (Vista users - if you have an issue with this, launch IE as an Administrator before adding the WebSlice). Pick up the "Share on Facebook" Activity on this page, too.
5. Mapping Activities: Why have just one mapping activity? From this page, you can get both the Live Search Maps and Yahoo! Local Maps Activities.
6. News: Get the MSNBC "Related News" Activity here and the "MSN Headline" WebSlice here.
7. Helpful Activities: There are Activities that help you Define, Translate, Blog, and Email.
8. ShareThis: the ShareThis browser button works with IE8, too. With this button, you can easily share web content on various services like Digg, Facebook, del.icio.us, facebook, MySpace, StumbleUpon, etc.

Congrats also to bloggers Alex Lomas, Roman Clarkson, and Colin Walker who have already implemented WebSlices for their blogs! And also check out Andrew Nurses' Reports Module WebSlice.