IE9 Is Almost Done, Download RC Build 9.0.8080.16413 Now

Internet Explorer 9 is almost done, and to hold you over until the RTW (release to web) Build becomes available, here’s the Release Candidate.

With IE9 RC Build 9.0.8080.16413 downloads live today, Microsoft has opened up the testing process to all users, provided that they’re running Windows 7 or Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2).

I’ve been given early access to the Release Candidate development milestone and managed to get some testing done already.

IE9 has certainly evolved since Beta, and this is evident in a range of aspects from usability to stability, to user experience, to overall performance, security, etc.

Most importantly IE9 Build 9.0.8080.16413 feels almost done, and this is important since the RC is the near-final release of IE8’s successor.

Consider this, when it launched IE9 Beta in mid-September 2010, Microsoft underlined that the release was considered a broad Beta, inviting all users to take it out for a spin. Now that IE9 has almost finished cooking users should not hesitate to download and test Build 9.0.8080.16413.

Yesterday I also had a chat over the phone with Rob Mauceri, Group Program Manager of IE, and Ryan Gavin, Senior Director of IE and they confirmed to me that just as there was a single Beta of IE9, Build 9.0.8080.16413 is the only Release Candidate that the IE team will offer testers.

The next stop, as far as the development process is concerned, will be RTW, and developers, end users, partners, etc. should expect IE9 Final extremely soon from what I’m hearing. There’s no RC2 in the making, although interim builds will continue to be produced, and some even shared with the public per the post-Beta model.

It won’t be that hard for users, especially those that ran IE9 Beta, to notice that Microsoft introduced a number of tweaks to the user interface. The UI modifications have been done in line with the company’s focus on a site-centric design for IE9.

IE9 RC also sports a new feature which Microsoft announced in December, namely Tracking Protection, enabling users to control the sites that get to track their online actions. There are also additional security improvements on top of the focus on putting customers back in control of their privacy while online.

Less evident modifications have also been introduced under-the-hood. IE9 comes with enhanced performance, including faster JavaScript rendering and hardware acceleration.

In addition, developers also have something to look forward to, as support for modern web standards has been expanded even further with IE9 RC, and HTML5 geolocation is just one example.

I put together a few more articles focused on specific details of the Internet Explorer 9 evolution from Beta to Release Candidate which are available via the links below.

But by all means, download IE9 RC, deploy it (it installs seamlessly right on top of the Beta) and test it. Over 17,000 pieces of feedback were taken into consideration from Microsoft Connect alone when building the Release Candidate, with IE9 RC being clearly superior to the Beta.

IE9 RC Supports HTML5 Geolocation, Advances Interoperability

IE9 Privacy and Security Evolve with the RC, Tracking Protection Now Available

IE9 RC Sports a UI Facelift

IE9 RC Performance Superior to IE9 Beta, to All Rival Browsers

Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) Release Candidate (RC) Build 9.0.8080.16413 is available for download here.