The newest version of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is expected to launch on March 14. The beta version of IE9 was released last September and since then Microsoft has thrown in Active X filtering among other new features, according to PC World Magazine.
The updated web browser is expected to have many improvements, including a streamlined design and hardware acceleration for a faster browsing experience.
Although there are various additions to Internet Explorer 9 compared with the previous version, many of the updated features have already been available on other popular browsers such as Google Chrome, Safari and Firefox.
Internet Explorer 9 now allows users to pin a favorite website to the taskbar on their Windows desktop so that they can open the web page by clicking on the icon, much like Google Chrome’s bookmarking function.
Other functions that are similar to Chrome include the new tab page where users’ most visited websites are displayed, enhanced tabs which allow users to drag a tab out of the Explorer and open in a new window, and the new address bar that serves as a search bar as well.
However, IE9 is not completely unoriginal. The new browser has a couple of tricks up its sleeve that others lack, starting with an Add-on Performance Advisor that tells users how each add-on, such as a toolbar, is affecting their browsing experience. If an add-on is shown to slow down the browser performance, users can easily remove it.
IE9 also uses the computer’s graphics processor, or GPU, to enhance video streaming and other graphic heavy tasks. This speeds up browsing experience even further.
The final version of IE9 will be available for download at 9 p.m. PST on March 14, and 12 a.m. EST March 15 for the East Coast.
The updated web browser is expected to have many improvements, including a streamlined design and hardware acceleration for a faster browsing experience.
Although there are various additions to Internet Explorer 9 compared with the previous version, many of the updated features have already been available on other popular browsers such as Google Chrome, Safari and Firefox.
Internet Explorer 9 now allows users to pin a favorite website to the taskbar on their Windows desktop so that they can open the web page by clicking on the icon, much like Google Chrome’s bookmarking function.
Other functions that are similar to Chrome include the new tab page where users’ most visited websites are displayed, enhanced tabs which allow users to drag a tab out of the Explorer and open in a new window, and the new address bar that serves as a search bar as well.
However, IE9 is not completely unoriginal. The new browser has a couple of tricks up its sleeve that others lack, starting with an Add-on Performance Advisor that tells users how each add-on, such as a toolbar, is affecting their browsing experience. If an add-on is shown to slow down the browser performance, users can easily remove it.
IE9 also uses the computer’s graphics processor, or GPU, to enhance video streaming and other graphic heavy tasks. This speeds up browsing experience even further.
The final version of IE9 will be available for download at 9 p.m. PST on March 14, and 12 a.m. EST March 15 for the East Coast.
