Top 10 Reasons to Like IE 9

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    Top 10 Reasons to Like IE 9


    Posted: 06 Jan 2011
    Top 10 Reasons to Like IE 9

    Kurt Mackie said:

    1. Standards Compliance
      The Microsoft IE 9 team submitted tests for various Web specs that are either unratified or in transition. Their focus has been to seek compliance with HTML5, SVG 1.1, CSS 3.0, ECMAScript 5 and DOM L2 and L3 specs. Microsoft officials say that developers only have to write their code once and it will run across all browsers.
    2. Hardware Accelerated Graphics
      IE 9 can power HTML5-coded audio and video using the device's underlying hardware. Multimedia can run natively in IE 9 without relying on add-ons such as Flash or Silverlight. IE 9 taps into the device's graphics processing unit (GPU) to optimize performance.
    3. Google UI
      The new Microsoft browser adopts the "popular sites" opening screen seen in Google Chrome. IE 9 also lets users search the Web using the address bar (or "One Box," as Microsoft terms it) of the browser, a feature seen in Google Chrome.
    4. Windows UI
      Features introduced in Windows 7 and Windows Vista can be seen in IE 9, such as the ability to pin Web sites to the taskbar as if they were applications. Developers can associate "jumplists" (a Windows term for a series of links) with pinned sites to facilitate navigation.
    5. Chakra!
      Let's face it, IE 8 is slow. IE 9 uses a new JavaScript engine called "Chakra" to speed performance. Chakra is capable of taking advantage of multi-core hardware.
    6. Architecture
      The IE 9 team moved the processing of JavaScript closer to the Document Object Model (DOM) in the IE 9 beta, which has resulted in speed improvements. Microsoft tests show that IE 9 equals or surpasses competing browsers in terms of speed.
    7. Performance Advice
      Microsoft included an "add-on performance advisor" in IE 9 that tells users when third-party additions are slowing the browser's performance.
    8. Better Security for Downloads
      IE 9 includes a new download manager that uses the Microsoft "smartscreen filter" to alert users when a download originates from an unfamiliar or untrusted source.
    9. Tab Isolation
      Microsoft claims that tab isolation is a new feature in IE 9. It provides for automatic crash recovery and hang recovery when Web sites fail.
    10. Management and Dev Features
      Hitting the F12 key lets Web developers debug their code or check performance issues. Developers can control how their Web sites appear by falling back to earlier Internet Explorer versions using IE 9 compatibility-mode settings. IT pros can set Group Policy for IE 9, with more than 1,500 options, including control over browser add-ons. IE 9 will support slipstream installations, allowing IT pros to include updates in distributions.
    Top 10 Reasons to Like IE 9 -- Redmondmag.com
    Nickmix's Avatar Posted By: Nickmix
    06 Jan 2011



  1. Posts : 6
    Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium
       #1

    Are there many sites which are actively using HTML5 coding?
    I had read an article last week which stated that some sites like Amazon are already taking advantage of the new HTML5 (creating more of an "app-like" interaction for the user), but I've not noticed a difference in function or interaction between any sites.
    Is this due to the beta?

    EDIT: Probably should have posted this in the browser section, sorry.
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  2. Posts : 40
    Windows 7 Professional- 64
       #2

    You mentioned that IE9 does not need Flash or am I confused? Adobe Flash 10.1 keeps interrupting IE9 wanting to install on my computer. It is a distracting. Otherwise it is tops.

    REL
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  3. Posts : 7,878
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #3

    RonLane said:
    You mentioned that IE9 does not need Flash or am I confused?
    This means if web sites are rewritten to fully utilize HTML5, instead of Flash, you wouldn't need Flash loaded on your machine.
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  4. Posts : 2,292
    Windows 7 Home Premium x64
       #4

    I like this thread
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  5. Posts : 1,252
    Windows 8 Professional 64-bit
       #5

    I'm still annoyed with the gadgets incompatibility, hopefully it gets fixed soon.
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  6. Posts : 115
    Windows 7 Enterprise SP1 64-bit.
    Thread Starter
       #6

    IE 9 Reader Review: Internet Explorer to the 9s

    From speed to UI to HTML 5, Redmond magazine readers share what they like -- and don't -- about Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 beta.
    Doug Barney said:
    Monopolies rarely last forever. First, Microsoft killed the early lead of the popular Netscape Navigator browser when Redmond bundled Internet Explorer with Windows 95. By maneuvering itself into a dominant browser market share in the late 1990s, Microsoft created a monopoly -- but also sparked the Mozilla Foundation and Google Inc. to fight back. Netscape eventually died after 10 years of AOL ownership, but a 1998 Mozilla project moved similar code into open source, creating Firefox -- which is now the browser of choice for many an IT pro. Today, Firefox and Chrome threaten Microsoft's supremacy.
    In recent years Microsoft has lost gobs of market share to Firefox, Chrome and the browser for the Mac OS X, Safari. Estimates vary, but according to recent research from Net Applications.com, Internet Explorer has a little more than 60 percent of the market, Firefox weighs in with 23 percent and Chrome has 7 percent (which has certainly risen since the results were released last summer).
    The browser isn't just a simple app anymore, but a strategic semi-platform for Web developers. Browsers have to parse code at sites supported by ad networks. They're also used for e-commerce, where they support corporate revenue streams. Most of the browser dough today comes through search advertising. (Can you say "Bing"?)
    Those factors add up to some compelling economics. That, and pride, are what we're sure are fueling Microsoft's drive to regain total browser dominance -- 60 percent share just doesn't cut it in Redmond.
    The Microsoft IE 8 drive kicked off with a slew of privacy and efficiency features. The new IE 9 beta, released in September, pushes the envelope still further, focusing on performance and modern standards. HTML5, currently in the working draft stage at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), represents the cutting edge, offering a richer way of delivering graphics and video. The Scalable Vector Graphics portion of the spec promises native browser support for video using standard HTML5 markup, reducing the need for Adobe Flash or even Microsoft Silverlight browser add-ons.
    Microsoft may be onto something innovative with IE 9, but that assessment will ultimately rest with the IT professionals and developers involved. To support this report, 62 Redmond readers responded to our queries about the new IE 9 browser, currently at beta release. More than a dozen provided the insight that only true IT pros have, and which we've distilled for you here.
    Speed Demon
    One of Redmond's major goals with IE 9 is boosting speed, be it the speed of downloading, rendering or video playback. While IE 9 is still in test mode, the speed goal seems to be achieved, according to some of our Redmond respondents.
    "I downloaded and used IE 9 for a while. It works very well but it's a beta. The upside is IE 9 is fast, clean and easy to use -- maybe because I'm used to IE 8," says Redmond reader Charles Chang.
    "Internet Explorer 9 is definitely faster than other browsers," says reader J.C. Warren, a client server integration analyst from Issaquah, Wash. "It solved a performance issue on my work computer where pages loaded incredibly slowly. I couldn't determine the cause and tried the Internet Explorer 9 beta on a lark -- and the slowness evaporated."
    Warren isn't alone in noting the speed gains. "I downloaded Internet Explorer 9 on zero day and love it. I run all of the others -- Firefox, Chrome and Safari -- but keep coming back to Internet Explorer 9. Initial app load seems faster and page rendering is as fast as any, if not quicker in most cases," says Redmond reader Roy Humphries.
    While Chang, Warren and Humphries see the beta as faster, others aren't so sure. Reader Chris Gahlsdorf, systems administrator for Northwest Human Services, only noticed a mild bump. "I did some basic speed tests, and while a little faster, it wasn't anything earth-shattering," Gahlsdorf says.
    Others question how much impact the browser itself has on performance. "I don't notice any speed difference between IE 9 and Firefox, or even IE 8 and Chrome. All the hoopla about the speed of JavaScript is lost on me because I have a 20 mbps fiber-optic connection and a fast computer," says Doug Perrault, a CPA and Web programmer near Tampa, Fla. "That it takes 1 ms to run a script in Chrome versus 8 ms in Internet Explorer 8 isn't that big of a deal. In both cases sites pop right up and work as if they were native Windows apps. The real speed differences are on the side of the servers. If the server is slow, the site is slow, even if you're using Chrome."
    Simple UI
    Google Chrome changed the whole browser UI paradigm. Just like the Google search engine, Chrome is decidedly sparse. Internet Explorer 9 apparently took some Chrome cues -- and the majority of the Redmond readers who responded like it.
    "IE 8 was a disappointment, as it was still shackled to the IE 7 frame of mind," says Gahlsdorf. "With IE 9, Microsoft used the Windows 7 mentality: simple is good. As a developer and administrator I appreciate still having access to the more advanced features, but I don't need them cluttering up my screen every day when I only use them 10 percent of the time."
    Reader Brian Knackstedt also wants his browsers lean and mean. "I like the new interface. It's nice to be able to drag and drop tabs between windows and have more screen real estate," says Knackstedt.
    And Humphries, already impressed with the browser's speed, is also a fan of the IE 9 UI. "You could argue that the interface has been stolen from Chrome, but that's the same as saying, 'Hey, your car has four wheels; you stole my IP!'
    "I won't drop the others," Humphries adds. "I have uses for them all, but Internet Explorer is my workhorse and just seems to work. It looks like Redmond finally got it right!"
    More IE 9 Reader Review: Internet Explorer to the 9s -- Redmondmag.com
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  7. Posts : 39
    Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 x64
       #7

    I prefer Opera, but at least now switching between Opera and IE would be bearable.
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  8. Posts : 201
    Windows 7 RTM x86/x64
       #8

    You know what I hate the most about IE9 other than the fact it's IE?

    EVERY F#(K%%@ TIME I open it, it asks me to disable addons..

    IE is like a dyson vacuum, it'll never stop sucking
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  9. Posts : 130
    Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
       #9

    I tried IE 9 64-bit for a while but it kept crashing too often.

    I've gone back to IE8 64-bit.

    I've gone 64-bit crazy now so I suppose I'll have to tread the 64-bit FF minefield as well.
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