9:33 AM
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Microsoft has released the beta for the newest version 9.0 of their ever-so-popular Internet Explorer browser. The beta has all the features that will be seen come release, but does not however have the updated version 9 UI. Version 9 has some important new things about it. For starters, there is support for HTML 5 and CSS 3, and a new javascript engine. IE9 also has an "Acid Test" feature that will let you test the compatibility and compliance of a website with IE9. With IE 9, webpages perform and feel more like the programs you use every day on your computer.
Play in a more beautiful web. The improvements to Internet Explorer are as much about what you don't see as what you do see. Internet Explorer 9 has a streamlined design, fewer dialog boxes to click through, more intuitive navigation, and many new features that speed up your web browsing experience.
Additionally, this new browser is programmed to use your GPU much better: IE9 uses your computer's GPU to enhance hardware scalable vector graphics (SVG), javascript performance, and HTML5 performance. Which is a great thing, considering the natural, slow development of more and more graphic intensive websites as the WWW matures.
Windows Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer; commonly abbreviated to IE), is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems starting in 1995. It has been the most widely used web browser since 1999, attaining a peak of about 95% usage share during 2002 and 2003 with IE5 and IE6.
For Microsoft, the arrival of IE9 is an attempt to compete more fully with Mozilla's Firefox, Google's Chrome, and other browsers. Although various flavors of Internet Explorer are still used for one in three Web site visits, Microsoft has been losing share for years as rivals have moved ahead technically.
With IE9, Microsoft is trying to change that, while also bringing more of Windows 7's capabilities to the browser. The new browser allows users to pin a Web site to the Windows 7 taskbar, much as a user can do already with applications. Sites that are pinned in this fashion can then program "jumplists" that allow surfers to quickly move through various parts of the Web site.
You should consider downloading the Internet Explorer 9 Beta if all of the following apply to you:
• You like to use the latest software and enjoy experimenting with new technology.
• You feel comfortable troubleshooting computer problems yourself.
• You don't mind updating software frequently.
You might want to wait for the final release of Internet Explorer 9 Beta if either of the following apply to you:
• You prefer to install software once, and don't want to mess with it again.
• You get frustrated if software doesn't always behave as you expect it to.
