Microsoft releases IE9 Platform Preview
Internet Explorer 9 is now definitely on its way, with Microsoft having released a preview version of its latest Web browser during Mix 10. The idea being that developers get to test out the forthcoming browser before it gets a full release to the public.
Microsoft today unveiled the Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview at Mix, Microsoft’s Web developer conference. The IE9 Platform Preview is designed for developers to use and get a handle on the direction Microsoft is heading with its latest Web browser and what it hopes to achieve with it. It also enables the IE9 development team to get feedback from the developers and alter course accordingly.
The Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview is a bare-bones version of the browser, providing all of the underlying plumbing needed for it to render Web pages but none of the user interface requirements such as tabs, an address bar, a back button, or built-in security features. Microsoft is specifically showing off its JavaScript engine codenamed Chakra and early developer tools.
Withe IE9, Microsoft is supporting HTML5, the controversial but much talked about emerging Web standard that Apple and others hopes will succeed Adobe Flash in years to come. Microsoft is also developing IE9 to support SVG2 (Scalable Vector Graphics) and CSS3. CNET has an article looking at all the various improvements that are on the way with Internet Explorer 9.
Microsoft plans to release an updated version of IE9 every eight weeks to ensure a healthy dose of feedback is progressively acted on. No release schedule for the final, consumer version has yet been revealed.
The IE9 Platform Preview can be downloaded from and tested on IETestDrive.com. Windows 7, Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2), or Windows Server R2 are required, with Windows XP unfortunately not up to the task.
Internet Explorer is still the most popular Web browser being used around the world, despite concerted efforts from the likes of Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and others to unseat it from that lofty position. The question is whether IE9 can actually gain the credibility and performance that has sadly been lacking in the last few versions of the browser.
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