Microsoft has launched a public beta of its much anticipated Internet Explorer 9 browser. With key principles behind its development described as ‘fast, clean, trusted and interoperable’, the emphasis is on the browser as an unobtrusive platform on which the Web can display its best.
Ashley Highfield, UK MD for consumer and online, Microsoft, said “we have invested heavily to make IE9 the most
robust and reliable browser.”
“There is more focus on the website you’ve visited, and less fuss over the browser around it.”
This unobtrusiveness is reflected in Windows 7 Aero transparency effect being applied to the entire interface of IE9, with all clutter removed, such as tool bars, options and status bars.
“We have made some substantial advances in key areas such as speed, reliability and interoperability, as well as looking closely at the user experience,” said Highfield.
Demonstrating the development approach for the new browser, Leila Martine, director, Windows consumer, Microsoft UK, went into some detail with a web site that Microsoft had used to test certain aspects of the platform behind IE9. Martine said that a ‘test drive’ site had been used to showcase aspects such as IE9’s ability to use the graphics processing unit of the PC to render graphic content. In a live demonstration, Chrome V6 and IE9 beta were put side by side displaying a graphic of a fish tank. 100 fish were rendered in each view, with IE9 displaying a frame rate of 60 frames per second (Fps), while Chrome struggled with just 8 frames per second.
You can see this for yourself at http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/, by clicking the FishIE Tank link.
“You’ll see incredible advances in speed,” said Highfield. “For the first time, the browser can use the latent power in your PC. It actually harnesses the power of your graphics card to create an online environment that’s as fast as any app residing on your hard drive.”
“We want to make the Web a more beautiful place.”
The frame rate of 60Fps was emphasised, as Martine said that it constituted high definition (HD) levels.
With interoperability as a key element of the browser, Highfield said that IE9’s implementation of HTML5 would encourage developers to develop once, instead of having to code for multiple platforms and plug-ins.
Other notable features were the ability to pin websites to the task bar in Windows 7, complete with jump lists. This high level of integration with Windows 7 is in contrast to the legacy support in IE9, as it is not expected to Windows XP compatible at all. The search and URL bar are now integrated, saving more space.
Microsoft has built on the security functions it introduced in IE8, and a new download manager integrates SmartScreen malware protection, which virus checks the file while it is being download. It is also working on the SmartScreen download reputation feature. Microsoft is compiling a database of software so that when users attempt to download a program from the web, they will be alerted as to whether it’s legitimate or whether they run the risk of infecting their machine with malware.
The Add-on Performance Advisor notifies users if add-ons are slowing the PC and offers the ability to disable them with the click of a button . InPrivate filtering, which blocks content such as ads, statistics apps like Google Analytics,
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