Q. What's the Internet Explorer (IE) 8 Web Slices feature?

A. One of the key drivers for IE 8 is to let users achieve more with fewer clicks. To help enable easy access to key information, the Web Slices feature was added. A Web Slice is a minimal version of a key Internet site used to quickly convey specific types of information, such as local weather or traffic information. A Web Slice is essentially a specific portion of a webpage to which you subscribe.

The IE 8Get More Add-ons link takes you to a site that has a list of all the add-ons for IE, including several web slices. The two I use most are Bing Traffic and Bing Weather, which add slices to my browser to let me quickly see local weather and traffic, as the below picture shows. Note that the slices don't open a new tab in my browser, they're just a temporary dropdown item showing the key pieces of information.

To add a Web Slice, go to the supporting site, configure your specific details (such as location), then click the Web Slice button and then click the Add to Favorites, as this image shows.

Many websites now offer Web Slices. Using an option under Tools, Internet Options, Content, Feeds and Web Slices, then Settings, you can configure a sound to play when a web slice is available on a web site.