Posted on 09/17/2010 8:56:24 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The internet of the future is likely to look very different from the distinct pages and sites we visit today – that was the message as Microsoft launched the latest version of their much-maligned Internet Explorer web browser. And while every major manufacturer always claims that theirs is a revolutionary product, the company that remains best known for Windows and Office might just be on the right track this time. Headlines around the world greeted IE9 as Microsoft’s most ambitious yet, while others called it revolutionary. Respected British website Techradar.com went so far as to call it “ie-mazing”.
Almost since it launched Internet Explorer in 1995, the browser has been troublesome for Microsoft. Even when it was in use by 95 per cent of all web users in 2002, a tech-savvy audience maintained that it was not the best option available. Firefox, the now-defunct Netscape Navigator and more recently Google Chrome have set the pace for speed and ease of use. With usage now down to less than two-thirds of the online population Microsoft has staged a fightback that, for once, appears to be winning many experts round, even if browsers are all starting to look more similar anyway.
At the heart of IE9, however, are two key features: the first is a bid to make websites more like applications, which means that the depth of features of, say Microsoft Word, could also be available to any site where developers have sufficient resources. In practice a chunk of that is largely cosmetic, but it’s a visual change that makes a genuine difference to the way people use the web. In the words of Microsoft’s Leila Martine, head of Windows in the UK, “it’s making web pages first class citizens”.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
In a demo, Microsoft showed IE9 to be at least five times quicker than Google Chrome.
They are able to increase the load speed significantly faster because of the integration between hardware and software: with the advance of new web programming language HTML5, Microsoft is now able to offload much of the burden of processing graphics onto computer hardware that’s built for the job, the graphics processing unit (GPU).
Of course Google isn’t going to sit still....
Competition is good.
WONDERFUL! So while MS is creating a new "revolutionary" browser, they're now using ASP and ActiveX MORE in order to "make websites more like applications." Really, MS? Ok, so you've got exploits coming out of your arse, you're patching security flaws monthly, and now you want to sell the user communities to the hacking community by making "websites more like applications?"
Sorry, I have no taste for IE anymore. If a site uses ASP or ActiveX, I just don't visit or partake in the content. I'd rather browse knowing that I have control over my kernel (I use Linux) vs. browsing and accepting any ActiveX request that comes along.
And of course Microsoft will not be standards compliant. You’ll still have to program webpages with Microsoft workarounds.
I’m running the beta (downloaded yesterday). I was getting the “foggy screen of death” in IE8 and could not get it solved. Since downloading the IE9 beta, I have not had one such incident. It also appears to be faster, although I have not used it enough to ascertain just how much faster.
Not for me. Not after getting hammered with a virus awhile back. The tech who cleaned it for me said “Rule #1 for avoiding attacks is to use any browser EXCEPT IE.
Well, there’s always Lynx ;).
Are they still going to use Active X, or rely on Silverlight.
My favorite post of the day, so far.
That’s a good point, dfw. I didn’t even consider Silverlight. I hid that update on all of my Windows machines. I’ll swallow the bitter MS pill on a few machines, but I prefer open source. Besides, WINE plays World of Warcraft in Linux much better than Windows does!
No, no, no! The Dear Leaders, Gate, Soros, Obama, Me-chelle believe that competition leads to Social Darwinism and inequality, and the little people don't know how to spend their money anyway, so they must "nudged" and guided into the "correct" way of thinking and buying and eating. /s
Hopefully it’s not as crappy as Vista
Then there are the tech-challenged like me who don’t understand a word you said.
I just installed the beta, and it’s running well so far. Hopefully no crashes. Stuff is moved around a little bit, but seems really good so far.
No, but it is an improvement over their old browsers.
Irrelevant. It’s Windows-only. It’s not going to revolutionize anything.
Hmmm...
Think I will stay with WebKit based browsers for now
I lost any trust in Microsoft LOOOONNNNNGGGGG time ago
Cool, I’m looking forward to this.
If you happen across a new speed comparison between IE9 Final Release and Opera 10.6x or 10.7xBeta please post it on FR. Only comparisons I’ve found were with a release candidate for IE9 from early August.
I’ll do the same if I find one posted online.
Will IE9 change the way we use the web?
No, because they do not go by established standards for web browsers.
Same here. I am really frustrated by the changes in the icons and the toolbar. I don't know why they moved the "search" function or put the "favorites" star on the right. The icons are microscopically tiny, a problem I hope they address soon. (After they move it back over to the left, where it had always been.)
I'm not enough of a geek to notice a lot of difference in the performance, but it's working well so far.
From what I've read, HTML5 and CSS3 should eliminate the need for Silverlight and Flash. We'll see.
http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp
IE isn't doing very well.
That confused me as well. Moving things around on us caused me to have a short learning curve on where things were. But....it is a beta....so I’m sure some things will change.
Right. Windows runs over 90% of the world’s computers, but its irrelevant.
I downloaded IE9 last night and haven’t had a chance to really use it much, but it looks like a great product. I want to get rid of Chrome because I dont trust Google’s spying.
I downloaded it. I noticed no change in the speed.
Veesta ...
I updated a "virgin" Win7 VM ("virgin" meaning nothing other than Windows et al ever installed on it) and tested the site BEAUTYOFTHEWEB.com.
When I click on EXPERIENCE, til the time the icons stop bouncing around was a bit less than 6 seconds, judging by my watch.
I copied the VM, and run just the copy. Then I updated the copy to IE 9 and did the same test - just a bit more than 6 seconds.
The VMs are running on VMware Fusion on my Macbook Pro. I rn the same test on Safari, and got about 4 seconds.
Now I know that a VM will run slower than a native app, so I'm not about to crow over the Safari number. But "revolutionary" ?
I think not.
It’s irrelevant to “revolutionary” change, because single-platform technology is not on the cutting edge of technology today.
The web is transforming into a platform for personal computers, iPads/tablets, phones, etc.
i installed ie 9 yesterday, but not fully.
i tried to uninstall ie 8 from the control panel,
but there’s no ie 8 to delete.
meanwhile, ie 9 isn’t operable: “setup cannot continue due to a more recent version of internet explorer is installed on your computer.”
how do i uninstall something not listed in the control panel?
Would you ping me when/if you find that comparison? I just updated my Opera to 10.62 last night. So far it's blazing fast! Even FR is loading faster. If IE9 can beat it I'd be surprised.
I agree. I thought the same thing yesterday while I was trying to find my way around.
Ugh...I am with you...they still have not learned ...or what?
Fast is good,...Viruses coming down even faster is BAD!
I wish I could go back to 7, 8 is pure crap!
The only reason I usr 8 is I can’t access my bank account with 7!
Which of the browsers is best optimized for porn?
bump
This is great for loggin' onto those BBSes.
I hear those 1200 baud modems are the bee's knees.
Procomm was a hell of a product. :’p :’)
Clearly a typo. Should have read:
Almost since it licensed Spyglass Mosaic, a weak precursor of the Netscape browser, and re-badged it as their own in 1995, the browser has been used by Microsoft as a weapon to bludgeon, coerce, or destroy other companies and the internet/web community, despite the fact that the IE browser sucked mightily for many years and only became usable in its 7th release over a decade later*.There, fixed it.
* Until IE7, the "About IE" box still credited Spyglass. I personally use IE as little as possible, but recognize that it has improved immeasurably in 7 and 8. I currently have no opinion on IE9, not having had a chance to try it out yet.
I just graduated to (gasp!) 2400 baud, and I tell ya, CompuServe has never been so speedy! Rock and roll!!
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