14 DAY TRIAL // Despite a comprehensive evolution in terms of modern web standards support designed to bring it on par with its rivals, Internet Explorer 9 is still not playing nice with the Chrome Experiments, a project debuted by Google over a year and a half ago. Chrome Experiments is set up as a collaborative effort by web programmers which put together and share innovative web experiments leveraging open standards including JavaScript and HTML5. The past week, the Mountain View-based search giant announced that Chrome Experiment passed the 100 projects milestone.
None of the three favorite experiments Destructive Video, SketchPad, and Harmony shared by Aaron Koblin and Valdean Klump, Google Creative Lab work with IE9 Platform Preview 3 Build 1.9.7.8.74.6000, which the Redmond company released recently to developers. This in spite of the strong focus on adopting modern web standards including HTML5.
As of Platform Preview 3 IE9 sports support for HTML5 elements such as Canvas and Video. However, this makes no difference for the browser when it comes down to the actual Chrome Experiments. Granted, the Chrome Experiments are tailored specifically to Google Chrome, showing off web standards support and exemplifying projects made possible as a direct consequence. Visiting the IE Test Center offered by Microsoft for Internet Explorer 9 using rival browsers will have similar results, with Chrome, Firefox and Opera failing to rise to the same performance levels for hardware acceleration, for example.
But the real issue here is not necessarily the embracing of web standards, but the focus on same markup. Developers should insist that all browser makers not only offer support for the same range of standards, but do it in a consistent manner. The Chrome Experiments should work up seamlessly across Chrome, IE8, Firefox, Opera, etc. Users, devs, and the entire web can only benefit from same markup becoming a reality, as the differences between the way that browsers support modern web standards melt away.
Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) Platform Preview 3 Build 1.9.7.8.74.6000 is available for download here.