Archive for: internet explorer
Web fiends and internet junkies might want to mark down March 14th (specifically 9pm PST) on their calendars — this is the day in which Microsoft will officially launch their most current Internet Explorer 9 after months of public beta testing. Should you the consumer really leave Firefox 4, Chrome 10, Opera 11, and/or Safari 5 browsers for IE9? After many weeks of IE9 testing in the GS labs, we’d say no. IE9 is great and all, but the latest versions of Firefox 4 and Chrome 10 are better.
Anyone looking forward to IE9?
- November 17, 2010 6:59 am
Love surfin’ the web on your new WP7 device but aren’t too keen on the new mobile version of IE? You’re in luck. A new WP7 browser by the name of “Browser+” was recently released. One special aspect of this 3rd party offering includes being able to see your tabs and search box in the same view, whereas the stock browser makes you hunt and peck a bit. Even more impressive however, is a “reader” feature similar to Apple’s own Safari browser — it strips out elements of the page and neatly display the text in an easy-to-read book/page-like view. The browser itself certainly isn’t all that earth shattering, especially considering Browser+ doesn’t even make use of it’s own unique framework (it’s built off of mobile IE). Nevertheless, options are options.
There are a few bugs here and there. But what new software/mobile app doesn’t have at least one or two these days? Still, that may turn some potential users off. Regardless, be sure to hop inside and check out the video.
You can find Browser+ in the Windows Marketplace for $1. Any WP7 users tried it out yet?
- November 2, 2010 11:54 am
It isn’t often that we praise Internet Explorer for it’s web savy, specification prowess. But IE9 is turning out to be quite a contender in the desktop browser wars. Let the image above do the talking — you can see it’s speed and fairly standards compliant. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that the HTML 5 isn’t finished yet. Several tantalizing features of HTML 5 like web workers, file API’s, local storag, and several other more minor specs are not yet supported. As such, the browser developers can’t possibly come to terms with something they don’t know how to develop for.
Another thing worth questioning as well is just how long Microsoft could remain on top. Sure their latest browser rocks socks right now, but how will it fair in 6 months time when several of the other major browsers have gone through an update or two? IE9 is a slow beast to update, especially with major advancements. Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Safari are usually the ones who test the edges of the web first.
As IE 9 inches closer to release, it will sure be interesting to see further refinements and how its competitors respond.
A good article on Webmonkey shows things may not be as rosey as the test portrays…
I have to admit, as Windows Phone 7 launch draws nearer, I find myself getting more and more excited. Part of it is the love I have for new, shiny gadgets. The other part is eager to see how well Microsoft managed to make Windows Phone 7. So far, we’ve seen plenty of promising features and hands on accounts. But the little things that we encounter day in and day out also play a big part in the success and/or failure of a platform. So today, we’re looking at the browser, Mobile IE, in Windows Phone 7.
Mind you, this is an pre-release build on hardware that probably won’t ever see the light of day. With that said, any negative performance issues cropping up now *should* hopefully be taken care of by the time launch day hits. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, hop inside to see Android, iOS, and WP7 square off in a mobile browser speed test…
On a slightly more optimistic note veering away from the UK Government’s decision to stick with the overly beaten dead horse that is IE6, we share the good news that IE9 is one step closer to release. For today, (actually it was later yesterday) Microsoft has officially taken the wraps off of the latest “Final” Preview of IE9.
The latest release still intended more for developers, has it conquiring Apple’s Safari web browser in SunSpider benchmarks as well as almost netting a perfect 100% on the hallowed Acid 3 test. (Come on MS, you still can’t manage 100% on a test that’s over a year old?) Though, I’m sure as the browser moves into the beta stage we’ll see even more tweaks made in the name of improving performance. Still, by the time IE9 is released later this year, Chrome will be nearing double digit numbers (based on new 6-week major update cycles) and Firefox 4 will be legit. With two big browsers receiving substantial updates at far shorter intervals, it looks like Microsoft will be forever playing catch-up.
Whataya think: Will IE9 be relevant?
*Facepalm* When are corporate entities going to realize the almighty dollar is not always the most important factor? I’m referring to a recent decision by the UK Government to forgo any browser upgrades as they had been planning. Instead, the whole lot of ‘em will continue pushing IE6 as the standard affair.
It’s quite sad when the browser’s own parent company, Microsoft, repeatedly knocks the browser for being old, slow, and insecure, the UK Government still considers it a viable option. When looking solely at monetary aspects, sure, IE6 may save a few pennies. But after being in the corporate IT world myself for many years, I can tell you that moving from browser to browser is not as big of a hassle as the UK Government is playing it off to be.
The Brits cite Microsoft’s willingness to update and patch IE6 until 2014. For the sake of everyone UK Government employee’s sanity, I hope to God they jump ship to greener pastures long before the deadline. Any official employees care to weigh in?
Safe you think, safe we’re not. Leave it to the exceptionally daft minds at Pwn2own for revealing just how vulnerable we really are when navigating the online world. A rouge link here, a hidden background download there — it’s pretty treacherous. The point of Pwn2own is not to steal however, but instead inform and help browser devs to better code their products. Rewards help too. And let me tell ya, legally hacking and compromising various browsers can be quite the side business. So far this year four people have won $10,000 for cracking various browsers. The winners and their victims:
- Safari (Mac) — Charlie Miller
- iPhone (un-jailbroken) — Ralf Philipp Weinmann (via proxy compliments of Vincenzo Iozzo
Oddly enough, Chrome is absent from today’s fallen victims, though I’m sure it’s only a matter of time if it hasn’t fallen already.
All of the men above are $10k richer today after their hard work. What’s interesting to note is that while here at the event it took minutes — and in some cases, seconds — these hackers spend weeks on their exploits. I’m sure a fair share of these guys have day jobs. Just think what a team of hackers who eat and breathe this stuff are capable of…?
Enough filling your heads with horror stories. So I have to ask: Do you still feel as safe surfin’ the web now?
Cnet
Microsoft is certainly finding every last duck and throwing them into line aren’t they? I mean, WinPhone 7 is shaping up to be quite the mobile OS savior. Windows 7 is right up their with 10.6 as far as desktop OS’s go (subjective, I know). And now, one of the most criticized Microsoft products, Internet Explorer, is shaping up to be quite the looker even it’s extremely early preview stage. The biggest news on the IE 9 front is the move to a webkit-based rendering engine. This change will finally allow Redmond’s in-house browser to stay neck and neck with faster, “more modern” browsers such as Firefox, Chrome, and Safari to name a few.
So Microsoft unveiled a boat load of information about their next browser. How does it stack up to the competition? In short: pretty darn good. HTML 5 support is the biggie of course with the video support via .h264 as well as hardware accelerated graphics being pegged as other reasons to get all excited. In regards to the embedded video support, at M’s demo today in Vegas, two 720p videos were shown off side by side, stutter free and smooth as warm butter. That’s something I can certainly appreciate even if several other browsers have featured the same features for months now.
Another bragging point can be seen above in the rendering performance with the new webkit roots. Granted, it’s still not as fast as several newer browsers such as the freshly-out-of-beta Opera 10.5 or Chrome 5 dev version. But IE 9 itself is in the extreme early stages. A notable and intriguing showing no less.
I’ve been a very outspoken critic of Microsoft for a while. Not because I loathe them, but because I honestly hope that someday an employee would stumble by here and think: “Hmmm, where can we improve?” Whether they heard my criticisms or not, across the board Microsoft is making some decent and noteworthy strides. I’d even go as far to say that I’d love to see Microsoft take the whole IE9, Windows 7, Xbox, Media Center ecosystems and mesh them altogether into some uber platform that truly fits together — every nook and cranny. Such cohesion is generally an Apple-only trait. But if Microsoft can pull it off, they’ll have something special.
Excited — if not for the shear awesomeness (I can’t believe I’m saying “awesome” — in a positive tone — and “IE” in the same sentence) of any particular Microsoft product of late but instead of the overall picture that finally looks to be coming together? Focusing more specifically on IE 9, is this the browser from Microsoft that will finally be worth using and even recommended?
The curious bunch can pick up a copy of the early IE 9 preview here+. Bear in mind however that it is extremely basic as of right now, lacking even a basic address bar. Let us know how it goes for you!
Gizmodo
- February 24, 2010 11:46 am
Ok ok, I know. You’re thinking another IE 6 joke/rant. Well, this one is actually quite funny and doesn’t really need much else. (**See picture below) Simply put, IE6′s web standards compliance are so lacking, (and terrible at what they do manage to muster in support these days) that it will take a pretty face such as subject 1 (top) and turn it into subject 2 (not top). In real life, it’s not quite that drastic — to a human face anyway. Either way, the geek in you should find this at least mildly amusing. Am I right?
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