72
Windows Internet Explorer 9
Released March, 2011
The Pros:Trimmed down, minimalist interface - allocates maximum screen real estate to the webpage you're viewing. Improved tab behaviours - even better than the competition (eg/ dragging out a tab to create a new window while a video plays). Much better compliance with web standards - hits 95/100 on Acid 3 compared to 20/100 for IE8.
The Cons:Only compatible with Windows 7 and Windows Vista. Long installation which requires a reboot / system updates. Still quite new - some bugs yet to be ironed out.
Available for free download, the Windows Internet Explorer 9 web browser offers several improvements over the previously released Internet Explorer 8. The new Chakra JavaScript engine is the chief improvement, as it makes for faster loading and improved web page responsiveness.
The improved speed of this browser is the main feature emphasized by Windows in promotion, with text, graphics and video all hardware-accelerated. To keep the speed of this browser uninhibited, it is equipped with a new automatic notification feature that lets you know when add-ons are slowing you down. To make the browsing experience simple for everyone, Windows Internet Explorer 9 utilizes a simplified platform, with fewer controls than Internet Explorer 8.
Features
- Free download
- Chakra JavaScript engine
- Windows/Linux/Mac OS X compatible
- Tab page
- Notification bar
- One box
- Pinned sites
- Windows 7 integration
- Web focused browsing
- ActiveX Filtering
- Add-on Performance Advisor
- Compatibility View
- Cross-site scripting filter
- Domain highlighting
- Download Manager
- InPrivate Browsing
- SmartScreen Filter
- Tab isolation and recovery
- Tracking Protection
User Reviews (4)
Pros & Cons
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3
trimmed down, minimalist interface - allocates maximum screen real estate to the webpage you're viewing
-
3
improved tab behaviours - even better than the competition (eg/ dragging out a tab to create a new window while a video plays)
-
3
much better compliance with web standards - hits 95/100 on Acid 3 compared to 20/100 for IE8
-
3
much improved Javascript performance - matches Chrome in terms of speed
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3
like Chrome and IE8, IE9 creates separate processes for each tab / plugin - keeps things running smooth, secure
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3
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3
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3
hardware accelerated graphics
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3
very solid built-in site debugging tools
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2
quite polished for an early Microsoft release, few really evident/annoying bugs
-
2
utilizes OS level integration to provide a better experience for the user (eg/ pinning websites to your taskbar by dragging the tab to it)
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2
good focus on security / privacy
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1
simplified install - ready to use right away, no annoying configuration required
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3
only compatible with Windows 7 and Windows Vista
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2
long installation which requires a reboot / system updates
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2
still quite new - some bugs yet to be ironed out
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2
some early site incompatibilities
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2
boot up time not quite as fast as chrome
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0
new interface is potentially confusing to those less savvy who are upgrading from less streamlined browsers such as IE6/7 and Firefox
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0
utilizes OS level integration to provide a better experience for the user - unfair advantage, potential security issues (as with previous versions of the browser)
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Comments (2)
Omar:
#windows_internet_explorer_9 I'm a pretty big fan of IE9, it's obviously a huge upgrade over previous IE offerings which is awesome. As a developer I'm psyched because IE6-8 were travesties and really held back development efforts as you had to constantly test and debug the quirks. It's just unfortunate that Microsoft didn't make IE9 available for Windows XP because there's a significant portion of the population still on XP and stuck with IE6-8 - which means those browsers still need to be tested against.
Now as a user the experience is a lot better. However it's not a giant leap ahead that Chrome first was vs the other browsers. And the problem for Microsoft is that it takes more than being equal with Chrome for me to switch over. I think people that aren't tech savvy will be more than happy with IE9 and may not switch to Firefox or Chrome, but people who have already switched most likely won't switch back. It's nice though that I can get my parents a computer and not be paranoid that they use IE.
Mar 21, 11
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