Austin, Texas — Software behemoth Microsoft’s long journey to rejuvenate its Internet Explorer, and deliver it as a competitive web browser against speedy upstarts like Google Chrome, finally reached its end tonight. After months of beta testing, on Monday evening Microsoft unleashed its new Web browser, Internet Explorer 9, at the hip event at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas.
Presiding at the release was Corporate Vice President of Internet Explorer Dean Hachamovitch, who mentioned the story of how Microsoft built IE9 from scratch, in a reference to the software’s use of hardware acceleration on Windows 7 and Vista said, “Our approach was to plug into the PC’s power the way it has not been before.”
Hachamovitch also emphasized the browser’s new streamlined look, “The browser should be a stage, a backdrop. We asked, how can IE make sites shine. This informed everything we did.”
Barely hours after the launch, Microsoft made the final version of Internet Explorer 9 is made available for download starting at 9:00 PM Pacific time from its Beauty of the Web site. Versions will be available in 39 languages, but the software only will run on Microsoft’s Windows 7 and Vista operating systems.
Moreover, Hachamovitch mentioned that the beta versions of the browser have been downloaded more than 40 million times, a record for the software company’s tester programs.
IE9 is a major evolution for Microsoft. The browser’s main interface is far simpler than that of previous IE versions. In addition to its minimal design, it packs in modern browser capabilities like a fast Javascript rendering engine and support for HTML5.
The Redmond Vole’s main marketing strategy behind IE9 is the browser’s ability to tell the graphics card in the PC to speed up to render graphics and motion more quickly. “IE9 is the first browser to take full advantage not only of the CPU but also the GPU (graphics processing unit),” said Microsoft’s Ari Bixhorn.
Furthermore, bundling its graphics hardware acceleration and HTML5 support, IE9 is a fantastic browser when compared with its predecessors, and competitive against its toughening rivals. The browser offers some great new features, such as Pinned sites, a revamped search box, and add-on performance impact notifications.
Pinned sites create a tighter consolidation between the browser and desktop by creating site-specific browsers. Drag a tab onto the Windows 7 desktop taskbar, and depending on the site developer’s coding you can get site-specific jump lists, unread e-mail notifications, or streaming media player controls.
Partner sites that have already enforced these customizations now include social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, and WordPress; commerce sites eBay, Amazon, and Groupon; and media strongholds Hulu, CNN, DailyMotion, Pandora, and Slacker. Sites can develop custom Jump Lists and offer the pinning from buttons on their pages.
The interface is not the only part of IE9 that is gone back to basics. Notifications, such as the session recovery warning shown here, appear at the bottom of the browser window and would not “grab your focus” and prevent you from continuing to browse. (Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)
IE9 empowers developers to deliver a lot of motion and advanced Web graphics on their pages, Microsoft says, and the IE9 sites demonstrated here tonight bore that out. Icons and small images dance on the screen and change shape. Video runs independently in the background. Maps appear in 3D with moving markers and animated people. IE9 also accelerates text, audio and video, Microsoft says.
A major key to that code is HTML5, which IE9 supports. “HTML5 is the secret sauce of the next Web” said Hachamovitch. Another member of the IE9 team who spoke at the Austin event, Bixhorn, said “Sites in IE9 can simply do things that they could not do before. We allow websites to look and feel more like native apps.”
To see the presentations at the SXSW launch event, you can watch the video below.
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