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Internet Explorer 9: THE STORY UPTIL NOW…

GauravK — Fri, 28 May 2010 20:37:16 +0000

Microsoft could regain the edge over rivals Google and Mozilla Firefox with its new Web browser due to be launched next year. IE9 is months from release, but already it holds the potential to alter the browser market. Not only could it reinvigorate competition with a host of new rivals, it could help usher in the cloud computing era that some of those rivals are eager to embrace. In that era, the Web transforms from a foundation for static documents and Web sites into a foundation for interactive programs.

With IE9, though, Microsoft is trying to rebuild the browser for the Web that’s to come through new standards such as HTML5 and CSS3, updates to Hypertext Markup Language for describing Web pages and Cascading Style Sheets for formatting.

1^st developer preview of IE9 was launched on March 16, 2010.

The preview is bare bones and doesn’t have much in terms of user interface. Still, it provides a good glimpse into what we can expect from IE9: a complete reboot. It supports HTML5, the new version of the mark-up language that supports more dynamic webpages, video embedding, and geolocation. Microsoft also focused on adhering to web standards. IE9’s Acid3 test — a measure of how well a web browser follows certain web standards — achieves a score of 55/100. Microsoft also shows off its improved compliance with CSS, including rounded corners (if you’ve ever developed for previous version of IE, this is definitely a sore spot). Microsoft also seems intent on being compatible with CSS3, which is currently under development. However, IE9 will not support Windows XP. But it could prove to be a smart move, as it might help push more people to upgrade to Windows 7.

May 5 2010: 2^nd developer preview of IE9 released.

The new preview offers a higher ACID 3 test score, 68 out of 100, and there’s a 117-millisecond improvement in speed according to Webkit.org’s SunSpider benchmark tests. Microsoft didn’t provide exact numbers for context.

Webkit.org's SunSpider Performance Update

Microsoft promised improved performance and graphics support, and the company said it’s been working closely with standards bodies. It submitted 79 new tests to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) responsible for HTML 5 compliance, bringing the total to 183.

The 2^nd release builds on the first Platform Preview, delivering improvements to IE9’s performance, support for standards, and hardware acceleration of HTML5.

Another headline element for IE9 is a new JavaScript engine. When it comes to these engines for running Web-based programs, Chrome has V8, Opera 10.5 has Carakan, Safari has Nitro, and Firefox has the new JaegerMonkey.

Now Internet Explorer has its own new name for a JavaScript Engine: Chakra. One big change in the JavaScript engine is its multicore support. As soon as a Web page is loaded, Chakra assigns a processing core to the task of compiling JavaScript in the background into fast code written in the native language of the computer’s processor.

Microsoft has also updated the test drive site with a new set of developer samples to show what developers can do with GPU-powered HTML5. As part of its commitment to enabling developers to use the Same Markup – the same HTML, CSS, and script – on the web, it has contributed many new tests to the W3C for HTML5, as well as CSS3 Media Queries and DOM. The Developer Tools in this preview include some new features to make finding and fixing markup issues easier.

The IE9 Platform Preview itself is a change, too. Previously, Microsoft delivered a more finished product to the world. Now it’s trying to get feedback at an earlier stage of development. And it’s explicitly seeking comment on a wide range of elements.

The platform preview installs side by side with Internet Explorer 8 so that you can try it without replacing the full IE that comes with Windows. This second release of the Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview will install over the first version. There is no need to uninstall the first Preview before installing second. You’ll also find more information on what’s included in this release of the Platform Preview in the Release Notes, including known and resolved issues.

You can download the 2^nd developer preview from here.

Bing Gets a New Toolbar

Admin — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 21:44:14 +0000

Along with the numerous announcements about the new Bing features revealed this week, the team also launched an updated web browser toolbar called the “Bing Bar.” Designed to replace the older MSN toolbar, this browser add-on built with Silverlight technology works in both Internet Explorer and Firefox.

As with the MSN toolbar, the new Bing Bar features a web search box, except now it’s powered by Bing Search Assist instead of Live.com. This feature provides search suggestions and image suggestions as you type in text. It can also tap into your search history to suggest previous queries you had entered before.

Another very cool feature is the toolbar’s ability to send you breaking news alerts, tailored to your preferences. Using the “Browse Plus” feature, as it’s called, you can configure the toolbar to watch for certain topics – like stock alerts, for example.

The “no-fail cash detector” helps you save money when shopping online by doing comparative searches for the product you’re viewing to see if another merchant has a better price or if you could get a deal via Bing Cashback.

Other buttons provide one-click access to news, video, stocks, and your Hotmail inbox. You can

http://www.discoverbingtoolbar.com/in action here or download the new toolbar for free from here.

Microsoft Changes Browser Ballot Screen As EU Deal Nears

Admin — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 22:46:22 +0000

Prior to the release of Windows 7, Microsoft were getting all sorts of headaches from the EU, the antitrust case was sparked off by Opera in December 2007, saying that Microsoft was shielding Internet Explorer from real competition by bundling it with every version of Windows. So to make things fair, the commissioner wanted the consumers to decide what browser they installed.

Microsoft agreed to this Ballot Screen in July as a way to resolve the case. It would present consumers with a windowshowing, IE, Firefox, Chrome, Opera and Safari. The user could then choose which browser they wanted installed on their system. Originally the browsers were to be displayed in alphabetical order, but last month, Opera, Mozilla and Google all submitted change requests.

Now it appears that the browser ballot screen will display the browsers in a random order every time. The ballot screen was originally intended to be displayed in Internet Explorer, but now it seems Microsoft will be displaying it as its own application. So now , the top five browsers — IE, Firefox, Chrome, Opera and Apple’s Safari — will appear in random order each time the ballot is displayed.

Brower Ballot Screen

More @ windows7news

Extensions Gain More Steam As Shareaholic Is Chrome-Ready

Admin — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:32:41 +0000

Google has begun its big push to bring extension support to its Chrome web browser. Currently, it’s accepting extensions from developers that it will be placing in some sort of gallery to launch at a later date. Last week, we showed the nice, new Aviary extension for Chrome. Today, we get very popular Firefox extension that is now Chrome-ready, Shareaholic.

As we noted in September when Shareaholic closed its seed funding, the extension has surpassed over 1 million downloads for Firefox. And for good reason: It makes sharing on just about every service on the web as simple as two-clicks. The new Chrome version works pretty much exactly the same as the Firefox version; you click the button and you are presented with a drop down list of social options for sharing. A shortened URL is automatically made for the webpage you are sending.

If you have a Shareaholic account you can set options for the extension including picking and choosing which social networks to include in the drop-down. You can also pick which URL shortener to use (Bit.ly is the default one). But you don’t have to have a Shareaholic account to use the extension, it will simply use the default sharing options (such as Twitter, Facebook, Delicious, etc) to populate your drop-down.

The extension is fast, and thankfully, does not seem to slow down Chrome at all. Obviously, extension support is a big key to Chrome competing with Firefox, the browser known for its extensions. And this simple extension support also gives Chrome a huge leg up over the top dog of the browsers, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.

Shareaholic’s extension, which is technically still is beta, is accessible through this direct link. Once you download it, simply drag it into your Chrome (version 4.0 or greater, which is still testing) browser window to install it. One note: It’s not working correctly with the latest dev build of Chrome for Mac, but it is working in the latest Chromium builds for Mac. Chrome for Mac’s beta launch is imminent, but Google has stated that extension support will not be in that build right away.

Shareaholic noted that the team at Google helped them port the extension over to Chrome. Clearly, they want to have the best extensions available early.

Source: Techcrunch

Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) Needs to Fly Like Chrome

Admin — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:26:22 +0000

There’s no way around it, Microsoft needs to make the next iteration of Internet Explorer, IE9, as fast as Google Chrome, if not even faster. As a general rule, Google Chrome evolves at a much faster pace compared to Internet Explorer, after all, the Mountain View-based search giant has gone through three major versions of its open source browser in a little over a year since v1.0 was initially introduced, and it is laboring to finalize v4.0. It’s taken Microsoft since the end of 2006 to produce Internet Explorer 8 in March 2008, and in this regard, IE’s performance, features, capabilities will always suffer from a handicap compared to rival products, simply because of he pace at which the company delivers major versions of its browser.
The speed at which Google and Mozilla swap major versions of Chrome and Firefox will undoubtedly contribute to the generalized perception that Microsoft is constantly playing catch-up with IE, rather than driving innovation. Fact is that with IE8, the Redmond company focused very little on driving JavaScript performance for the browser. The software giant had its reasons, supported by the argument that JS is only one aspect of a browser’s performance, in some scenarios down right insignificant, and by proof that IE was loading pages on par with… (read more)

Windows 7 IE8 Critical Patch Coming Next Week

Admin — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:24:14 +0000

Microsoft has readied a security bulletin designed to address a Critical vulnerability in Internet Explorer, including the latest iteration of the browser running in Windows 7. The IE patch will, in fact, be the only one that will impact the successor of Windows Vista, as Windows 7 RTM is not affected by any of the security issues patched with the wave of security updates planned for release on December 8, 2009. The information was made available through the Advance Notification for the December 2009 Security Bulletin Release, a resource designed to allow customers to get ready for this month’s patches.
“For December we are planning to release six new security bulletins addressing 12 vulnerabilities in Windows, Internet Explorer (IE) and Microsoft Office products. Three of the bulletins have a maximum severity rating of Critical and three have a maximum severity rating of Important. To help customers plan for their deployment of these updates, I want to specifically call out that they touch all supported versions of Windows and IE. On the Office side, the bulletins impact Project, Word and Works 8.5,” revealed Jerry Bryant, Microsoft security program manager.
Bryant notes that the Redmond company considers a top priority the patching of a recently disclosed Internet Explorer vulne… (read more)

Mobility in Office 2010

Admin — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:08:02 +0000

Microsoft Office 2010 provides you powerful new ways to deliver your best work – whether you’re at work or at home, whether you are travelling in a cab or on a flight, whether you are working on a PC, browser or phone. By offering more ways to access your files from virtually anywhere, Office 2010 puts you in control.

As part of Wednesday’s Office 2010 Beta Announcement we announced the availability of the Office Mobile 2010 Beta — today’s post describes some of the exciting work we’ve done related to mobility in more detail. Specifically, we’ll talk more about the experiences that make Office 2010 the mobile information worker’s best set of productivity tools on the phone.

Basically, there’re two major offerings we provide for mobile information workers to work on their Office documents. Depending primarily on the type of phone you have, you get to choose whichever way works best for you or is available to you. One way is with Microsoft Office Mobile 2010 and another is with Microsoft Office 2010 Mobile Viewers. We’ll discuss both in detail below, but in short….

…If you are using a Windows Phone

l You get both options. If you want to modify your Office documents, you can use Office Mobile 2010 applications providing rich user experience which customers of Microsoft Office client applications are familiar with. If you just want to quickly view the documents, you can use Office 2010 Mobile Viewers which display your documents in mobile IE browser. We will walk you through the different scenarios in upcoming posts so you know which option might work best for you.

…If you are using a phone built on a non-Windows Platform

l You get the Office 2010 Mobile Viewers option only. As previously mentioned, you get to view the Office documents in your mobile browser whether you have smartphones like iPhone, Blackberry, Android, Symbians or non-smartphones.

The Beta for Office Mobile 2010 is available worldwide in Windows Marketplace for Mobile for Windows Mobile 6.5 phones. To try the Office 2010 Mobile Viewer, you need to have the Office Web Apps installed on your company’s Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 and then you can use explorer on your phone to view Office documents on the server (read this Office Web App blog post for more information on how to deploy the Web Apps in the enterprise).

In future blog posts, we will explore tips and tricks for the different apps and tools Microsoft Office provides to meet the demands of your busy life on-the-go with your mobile device. In the meantime, enjoy the information below and we hope to hear your feedback soon!

Office Mobile 2010

Use Microsoft Office Mobile 2010 on your Windows phone to get the familiar Microsoft look and feel as well as the services that you’re used to.

Even when you’re on the road, you can view Microsoft Office Word, Microsoft Office Excel and Microsoft Office PowerPoint documents sent as email attachments.

Word Mobile 2010, Excel Mobile 2010 and PowerPoint Mobile 2010

More at TECHNET

Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) Early Preview Demo

Admin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:06:48 +0000

Much to everyone’s surprise, Microsoft shared details about Internet Explorer 9 very early on in the browser’s development process. Dean Hachamovitch, general manager, Internet Explorer, explained that the first IE9-related information offered via official channels was simply the Redmond company joining the discussion of browsers. The software giant choose its Professional Developers Conference 2009, in Los Angeles, to showcase a preview of IE9, but no bits were released as the browser is merely just weeks old.

“The topics that we’re going to talk about pretty much choose themselves, when you look at the conversations that happened throughout IE8,” Hachamovitch noted. More specifically, Microsoft touched three topics, in particular, standards support, performance progress, and the introduction of graphics hardware acceleration.

You will be able to watch the first public demonstration of Internet Explorer 9 via the video embedded at the bottom of this article, courtesy of Microsoft. Obviously the company did not single out the content focused only on IE9, so the video covers the entire PDC 2009 Day 2 Keynote, featuring such Microsoft executives as Steven Sinofsky, president, Windows and Windows Live Division, and Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president, .NET Developer Platform. It will be Sinofsky demoing IE9, as along with the Windows project, the Microsoft president is also responsible for the development of the next iteration of the Internet Explorer browser.

As far as I’m concerned, the entire PDC 2009 Day 2 keynote is well-worth watching, but I do realize that you have to dedicate a consistent portion of your time in doing so, as the video goes on for about two and a half hours. So, for those that just want to skip directly to the IE9 demo, just go ahead and jump to minute 40 in the presentation and take it from there (spoiler alert – IE9 has no GUI as of yet).

For more details, Check out softpedia.com

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