14 DAY TRIAL // Internet Explorer 9 IE9 Beta is here (Build 9.0.7930.16406). I'm at the official launch in San Francisco. Internet Explorer 9 Beta is available in many languages.
The keynote address is now over. IE9 Beta is absolutely mind-blowing! Stay tuned for more details.
One detail that I have to mention from the get go is that Internet Explorer 9 Beta no longer installs alongside older releases of IE. I deployed it approximately one hour ago and it upgraded my IE8 on Windows 7.
As I was telling you yesterday, IE9 Beta introduces a completely overhauled graphical user interface. The redesign has resulted in a streamlined UI, set up to bring websites and not the browser into focus.
“When we designed the IE9 interface, we wanted the frame to say ‘Look at the site,’ not ‘Look at the browser,’” Hachamovitch noted.
It’s very important to bring into focus some of the features already introduced in IE9. The latest iteration of the browser comes with hardware-accelerated graphics, new DOM and new JavaScript engine, and developers tools which can be accessed by pressing F12.
In terms of the revamped UI, users will be able to pin websites to the Windows 7 Taskbar, use JumpLists for those sites, but also Aero Snap, and Thumbnail Previews.
The work on the UI means that customers will get evolved Tabbed browsing, a single box which combines the Address Bar and the search box. At the same time, IE9 Beta comes with a new feature allowing users to browse faster by remembering the websites already visited: Address Bar Top Results.
Additional new features include: a download manager, add-on performance advisor, hang recovery, compatibility view, automatic updates, etc.
Developers will be able to enjoy advanced HTL5 support, DOM Level 2 and Level 3, SVG, CSS3, and ECMAScript 5.
They announced this at the start of the keynote, Dean Hachamovitch is no longer the General Manager of IE, he’s been promoted to the position of Microsoft corporate vice president for Internet Explorer.
"You can download Internet Explorer 9 Beta in the language that matches your version of Windows or choose the English version, which works with all versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7, and will deliver more content shortly," Microsoft stated.
