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Microsoft Previews Internet Explorer 9, Looks Like a Contender

by Terrence O'Brien on November 20, 2009 at 09:35 AM

Microsoft Previews IE9, Looks Like a Contender
With Chrome chugging along toward version 4.0 and Firefox 3.6 just around the corner, Microsoft is in danger of falling even further behind in the browser wars. The boys in Redmond released Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) earlier this year, and while it was an improvement over IE7, we were generally disappointed with its stability. Plus, it still was far behind its competitors in raw speed.

Turns out that Microsoft is already hard at work on the next version of its browser, titled, chronologically, 'IE9.' There is no download available to consumers yet, but if the company's claims are to be trusted, IE9 represents not just an evolution of IE, but a complete redefinition of what should be expected of the Microsoft browser.

For one, the IE JavaScript engine, important for running rich Web apps like Gmail and Mint, has been completely rewritten. Now, at least according to one test, IE9 is only slightly slower than Firefox 3.6 and Chrome (as opposed IE8, which was about 500-percent slower). And since the browser is still young, it will likely only get faster. Additionally, Microsoft claims to be placing renewed focus on standards compliance. This will not have any obvious impact on your average user, but it will make the lives of Web developers much easier. IE9 will also include support for some features of the upcoming HTML5 standard, which has the Google Gears-like ability to store data for offline access and the ability to embed video or audio without Flash.

Of course, we'll have to wait and see how it shapes up closer to launch, but if we take Microsoft at its word, IE9 might be a legitimate contender in the browser space -- and not just because it's installed on every Windows PC by default. [From: ReadWriteWeb, IEBlog, Ars Technica, and Download Squad]

Tags: browser, ie, ie9, internet explorer, internet explorer 9, InternetExplorer, InternetExplorer9, microsoft, top, web browser, WebBrowser

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