River Run Tech Blog: Microsoft Releases Internet Explorer 9 Beta
Posted by Eric Torres on Wed, Sep 22, 2010 @ 09:38 AM
If you’re like me, you spend most of your time on the computer using your web browser than just about any other program on your machine. What matters to me are the pictures, words, music and people I connect with and not so much the software I use to get there. Sure my browser of choice is Firefox, but that may soon change.
Last week Microsoft released the beta version of Internet Explorer 9, which promises “a more beautiful web.” It is, without question, the most ambitious browser release Microsoft has ever 
undertaken, and despite the beta label it is an impressive product. According to Microsoft, IE9 Beta had been downloaded over two million times by the end of the second day. Internet Explorer 8 Beta, which was launched in August of 2008, pales in comparison as it could only garner 1.3 million downloads in the first five days. For years, Internet Explorer has been the top browser as far use, but lately its market share has been steadily sliding as computer users flocked to rivals such as Mozilla's Firefox, Google's Chrome and Apple's Safari. So Microsoft has a lot riding on IE9.
Microsoft has pulled it off, IE9 represents a big step forward. The underpinnings of IE9 are no secret. Microsoft has been talking since last fall about its determined effort to adhere to Web standards and embrace HTML5. It has also detailed its efforts to improve IE9’s performance compared to previous versions. IE9 comes with a streamlined interface, simpler navigation, faster speeds, superior graphics and websites that behave more like apps that are loaded on your PC. Microsoft is teaming with partners to produce sites that take advantage of the graphics chips and other components inside your computer. Among them; Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, eBay, CNN, and USA TODAY.
One drawback to IE9 is the operating systems it will work on, at least in this beta version. If you’re running XP as your OS, you’re kind of…well stuck on IE8. Internet Explorer 9 will only run on Windows7. Even if you have Vista, you won’t be able to use all of IE9’s new features.
For a closer look at IE9 or to download the beta version for yourself, visit Microsoft’s new site www.beatutyoftheweb.com. For an in depth review from Ed Bott at ZDNet visit his Microsoft Report.