IE 9 puts Microsoft back into the browser game

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	TOP STORY[/size][/font] IE 9 puts Microsoft back into the browser game[/size]
	By Woody Leonhard Internet Explorer has been a distant third-string player to Firefox and Chrome for so long, we thought it could never catch up. But with a slick new interface and enhanced Windows 7 features, IE 9 — now in public beta — just might put Microsoft back at the top of the browser game.[/size]

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The full text of this column is posted at WindowsSecrets.com/2010/09/23/01 (opens in a new window/tab).

Columnists typically cannot reply to comments here, but do incorporate the best tips into future columns.[/td]

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As usual, great input Woody but IE9 seems to be absolutely no use to me whatsoever.

I, along with millions of others, still use XP.

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Yes, there is a huge alienation of XP users. Story needs better clarification at the start as well; IE is not running a distant third to FF and Chrome in usage so it kind of lost my interest right from the start with “muddlemumble.” Kicking XP to the curb probably means the 60% share will generally decline, maybe significantly, maybe not.

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I don’t see what there is in IE9 to get me excited, let alone Woody. Who wants to fill their Task-bar with shortcuts to websites? Has Woody not used Windows 7 Jump Lists? You can pin any site you like to the Jump list. So IE9 has the potential to be a right-click quicker.

Let’s curb all this excitement: IE is playing catchup whilst Chrome and Fire Fox will shortly shoot ahead again.

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A poor review with far too much emphasis on clever things one can do with tabs which I guess don’t do anything for most of us. Nothing about website compatibility, compliance with W3C, customisability etc. And apart from a single one word mention at the end, no mention of Opera which is a serious contender as far as browser speed is concerned. Of course being on XP for the foreseeable future IE9 doesn’t even come into the equation.

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A poor review with far too much emphasis on clever things one can do with tabs which I guess don’t do anything for most of us. Nothing about website compatibility, compliance with W3C, customisability etc. And apart from a single one word mention at the end, no mention of Opera which is a serious contender as far as browser speed is concerned. Of course being on XP for the foreseeable future IE9 doesn’t even come into the equation.

Dave –

IE9’s still in beta, so I can’t come down too hard on W3C compatibility, HTML5, or even speed. The review was intended to show people what’s coming for sure – which means features – and evaluate that in terms of what we know will be coming with FF and Chrome.

Opera’s a good browser, but way, way down in usage statistics. As far as Opera speed vs Chrome 7 – it’s a real turkey shoot at this point.

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If you asked me a few years ago, should Governments interfere with software ‘manufacturers’, I would have said no.
However since MS software is crucial to MOST businesses, we have to intervene, if complex messes are being created.
Governments should legislate to force MS to keep Windows simple (KISS).
One small step in that direction would be to insist that MS stop integrating software into Windows, that does not need to be integrated..
I am sure there are a few examples, but let us start with IE9
Boycott it, until it becomes a stand alone program.
Rob.
PS Who knows, it might then run in XP ?

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If you asked me a few years ago, should Governments interfere with software ‘manufacturers’, I would have said no.
However since MS software is crucial to MOST businesses, we have to intervene, if complex messes are being created.
Governments should legislate to force MS to keep Windows simple (KISS).
One small step in that direction would be to insist that MS stop integrating software into Windows, that does not need to be integrated..
I am sure there are a few examples, but let us start with IE9
Boycott it, until it becomes a stand alone program.
Rob.
PS Who knows, it might then run in XP ?

IE9 is NOT integrated into Windows in the way that IE6 was with XP. Windows was re-architected starting with Vista to allow a much smaller base OS and to comply with legal decisions around the world. One reason IE9 is not compatible with XP is that IE9 relies on Direct2D libraries that are not available on XP. I’d guess there are other reasons also – such as another not so subtle push to XP users to upgrade.

Joe

--Joe

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If you asked me a few years ago, should Governments interfere with software ‘manufacturers’, I would have said no.
However since MS software is crucial to MOST businesses, we have to intervene, if complex messes are being created.
Governments should legislate to force MS to keep Windows simple (KISS).
One small step in that direction would be to insist that MS stop integrating software into Windows, that does not need to be integrated..
I am sure there are a few examples, but let us start with IE9
Boycott it, until it becomes a stand alone program.
Rob.
PS Who knows, it might then run in XP ?

I partially agree, but you have to remember that there are a mass of non-nerdy users out there who are quite satisfied that Windows provides all their needs with one install. MS just need to integrate MSE and all the WMP codicies too.

A version of Windows bereft of all the add-ons such as IE, WMP, defrag, etc., would be welcome to many.

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If you asked me a few years ago, should Governments interfere with software ‘manufacturers’, I would have said no.
However since MS software is crucial to MOST businesses, we have to intervene, if complex messes are being created.
Governments should legislate to force MS to keep Windows simple (KISS).
One small step in that direction would be to insist that MS stop integrating software into Windows, that does not need to be integrated..
I am sure there are a few examples, but let us start with IE9
Boycott it, until it becomes a stand alone program.
Rob.
PS Who knows, it might then run in XP ?

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Informative review. I also use Firefox as the main browser, and IE8 only for a few pages. No saved sessions, multiple tab rows, or ability to determine maximum width, (using TabMIxPlus ext. which enables 16 tabs per row with a 19″ monitor) or change colors (Colorful tabs), embed and save the url of a page, no Googlebar, no themes, and multiple other things one can do with FF or add to it, and which is more the work of a user community. And IE9 has even less tab or address bar space. I only have XP, which i like better than Vista, so IE9 is out anyway, but thank God i can even surf.

peacebyjesus.net

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I tried IE9 and found that a number web sites didn’t load, hung up. I have 1and1 for my web page and couldn’t do everything with it. Went back to ie8 and back to using google chrome, to many compatibility issues at this point.

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Doesn’t matter how many “improvements” MS makes to IE as long as they don’t make it easy for thousands of contributors to write extensions. The true value of FF is the boatload of free extensions available to enhance it.

For us geezers and others who are visually impaired, Zoom Toolbar alone is worth the price of admission for FF, but add to that Adblock Plus, FlashBlock, Ghostery, IE View, and Tab Mix Plus, and you’ve got yourself a truly useful browser. Finally, if you’re into capture, add Abduction and Downloadhelper.

MS can bump the number up after “IE” as many times as want, but they’ll never provide the ability to do any of the above. MS, along with its partners, are too invested in jamming unmitigated web crapp down our throats exactly the way they want us to swallow it, you know, sort of like the way ducks are force fed to produce tasty foie gras. And you have to remember, MS is all about no choice. Sort of like Obamacare.

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Doesn’t matter how many “improvements” MS makes to IE as long as they don’t make it easy for thousands of contributors to write extensions. The true value of FF is the boatload of free extensions available to enhance it.

Exactly. The whole point of Firefox is the extensions (ooh, sorry, “add-ons” ).

All these tab functions that are “new” in IE9 are either of little value to me or are already do-able in Firefox.

‘Tear-away tabs’ – yuk! I always use just one window.
‘Shortcut to website’ – I use the ‘DeskCut’ add-on
‘Pin a site to the taskbar’ – you can put it on your bookmarks bar in Firefox, favicon and all:

Have a look at the top of my FF screen. See anyone you recognise, Woody? (7th icon along, 3rd row) :

‘Fastest browser’ ? Hmm, in a country where the Internet crawls along, there doesn’t seem much point in displaying the top 1/4 of a web page in nano-seconds when you have to wait another 30 seconds for the rest!

Nil illigitimi carborundum

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Have a look at the top of my FF screen. See anyone you recognise, Woody? (7th icon along, 3rd row) :

Undeservedly handsome, I’d have to admit.

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The Direct 2D API that XP does not support is what enables IE9 to use hardware acceleration. I might be wrong on this, but I have never known MS to add new features to an old OS for which they have discontinued support. And except for security patches, MS support for XP is over for us consumers.

As to government intervention, I do not know about other governments, but in the US, when the government sticks its hands in a matter, it magically manages to royally screw things up, and ultimately increases the financial burden on overtaxed citizens. The last thing MS needs (and consumers) is for government talent(?) to run their business.

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I’ve been trying it and just can’t get excited about it!
I tried the HTML5 test with the Beta9, FF 3.6.6 and Opera 10.62 and found Opera & FF to be better with smoother videos and Opera is fast. I repeated my testing with each browser over a period of time this morning….

Using these browsers with a couple sites I still maintain with MS Expression Web3, currently without HTML5, revealed a different rendering.
Opera & FF looked correct but IE9 messed up some layouts.
Makes me scratch my head….built/maintained with a MS product that isn’t rendered correctly with their latest browser.?!

I currently have XP, Vista, and Win7 computers each equipped with IE, FF, & Opera so I can test my sites. IE9 doesn’t do me any good on my XP computer, as has been said several times…
People that have me work on their PCs always ask about an upgreade from XP. They don’t have enought memory, even for XP, nor is their video adaper up to the task. If their current programs meet their needs and they don’t need a new application that won’t run on XP, they really don’t have much of an incentive to move to Win7.

If it’s not broke, don’t try to fix it.
When it’s broke, deal with it.

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MSIE 9 beta simply appears as a big white space on my computer ….

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okay, I “tried” IE9… don’t like it… now, how the heck do I get rid of it and go back to IE8??????????

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okay, I “tried” IE9… don’t like it… now, how the heck do I get rid of it and go back to IE8??????????

IE9 beta is a Windows update. So, you have to view “installed udpates”. Select “Windows Internet Explorer 9”, then click Uninstall. You’ll automatically revert to IE8.

Joe

--Joe

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I fear Microsoft’s “Security Model” has gotten stupid, in my personal opinion. Because IE was such a seive, specifically, Active X, they have tried to bandaid the thing to death. Using Firefox, it is simple I select Edit, Preferences, Content and unclick java, javascript, automatically load images, and then bop over to security and uncheck cookies. Quick, simple and clean, and in only a few clicks I’ve locked down my browser and I know what I’ve done. IE, well lets see, they have this “securiy bar”. What do the levels mean? You got me. Oh, then you have the zones, and what are these zones? I think there are about five of them. One is the local network one is the computer itself, one is the internet, and so on. How does this all play together? Yes, I could take the time to become a MS expert. But I refer you back to the ease with which I know what is locked down in Firefox. I’m required to use IE at work. I have a few very specific work related sites I visit, and absolutely nothing else. I can’t afford to take any chances. At home, Firefox on an Ubuntu loaded netbook, and I’m free to explore safely.

Oh by the way, Microsoft doesn’t support IE on Linux. I know, this is a Windows Secrets lounge, and for that I apologize. But Woodiy’s post on the slick new IE 9, kind of got to me. Until Microsoft addresses basic usability issues, I will use IE only if I have no choice.

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I fear Microsoft’s “Security Model” has gotten stupid, in my personal opinion. Because IE was such a seive, specifically, Active X, they have tried to bandaid the thing to death. Using Firefox, it is simple I select Edit, Preferences, Content and unclick java, javascript, automatically load images, and then bop over to security and uncheck cookies. Quick, simple and clean, and in only a few clicks I’ve locked down my browser and I know what I’ve done. IE, well lets see, they have this “securiy bar”. What do the levels mean? You got me. Oh, then you have the zones, and what are these zones? I think there are about five of them. One is the local network one is the computer itself, one is the internet, and so on. How does this all play together? Yes, I could take the time to become a MS expert. But I refer you back to the ease with which I know what is locked down in Firefox. I’m required to use IE at work. I have a few very specific work related sites I visit, and absolutely nothing else. I can’t afford to take any chances. At home, Firefox on an Ubuntu loaded netbook, and I’m free to explore safely.

Oh by the way, Microsoft doesn’t support IE on Linux. I know, this is a Windows Secrets lounge, and for that I apologize. But Woodiy’s post on the slick new IE 9, kind of got to me. Until Microsoft addresses basic usability issues, I will use IE only if I have no choice.

IE has had its share of security issues through the years and continues to do so though less than in the past. I certainly hope that you don’t think FF is inherently more secure than IE these days. If you do you aren’t paying attention to browser updates and the nature of a growing part (maybe a majority) of the security threats. They are social engineering threats not code breaches. As such, no browser is immune. If a bad guy can get you to load something on your system then you it does not matter what browser you use.

Just because you don’t like the approach Microsoft have taken in the design of IE controls does not mean it is bad. It does take some learning but as setup out of the box those controls are OK for most day-to-day usage. Granted some of the terminology is less than optimal. Microsoft have a huge business customer base that depends on the fine grained controls available in IE. From your description it seems as though FF is a rather blunt instrument which does not work in a situation where a browser is used to deliver applications, browse internal site, and browse internet sites.

Who cares if Microsoft does not support Linux? Currently, they have made a business decision not expend the resources to do so. If you choose to use another OS & browser that is fine. Just don’t make the same mistake that many Apple users do thinking that they are invulnerable because of their environment.

Joe

--Joe

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@Joe –

Interesting you should mention that. I have weekly “Computer Clinics” here in Phuket, and I’m shocked at how many Mac users believe they’re impervious to viruses and other malware.

There’s a huge potential growth industry, writing malware for the Mac. It’ll thrive until the average Mac user understands that they’re just as vulnerable as we Windows users; it’s just taking longer for the bad guys to get around to them.

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I installed IE9 to check it out and found it to be very clunky… So I promptly uninstalled it.. and went back to IE8… I will stay with Firefox as they seem to have gotten it right!

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I am sorry I don’t agree to the government interfering with Free trade… What we should is to vote with our Dollars to get the soft ware producers to do it our way!

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@Ray –

I’m with you.

Vote with your feet. And your pocketbook….

(By the way, if you like Firefox, you might try Chrome. I’m using it more and more. Just wish I could get AI Roboform to work with Chrome Canary.)

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I looked through the replies for a bit before I finally saw a mention by a member about Opera. What’s the deal with the media never bringing up Opera when they compare browsers? Most of the touted “new” features that were available in IE when 7 came out and also in Firefox have been available in Opera for many years before they were available in either of the other three browsers that are mentioned in this article. Tabbed browing, tab drag off, speed dial, hey, it even has a built in mail client, notes, and contacts.

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