14 DAY TRIAL // A few screenshots of what is reportedly the Beta development milestone of Internet Explorer 9 have emerged on a Chinese website recently. Softpedia readers that got a sneak peek at the alleged IE9 Beta screenshots yesterday were also able to read about my skepticism related to their validity. A representative of CNBeta contacted me since my article was published yesterday, claiming that the Internet Explorer 9 leak is indeed real, and that what customers are getting via the screenshots is an actual taste of IE9 Beta.
According to the CNBeta representative, Microsoft has contacted them and is trying to find out what their source was. The Chinese website indicated that the IE9 Beta screenshots involved a copy of the browser which was supplied by someone close to the Redmond company. However, CNBeta declined to provide any additional details related to the IE9 Beta leak, noting that secrecy was necessary in order to protect their own source.
I expressed my doubts over the IE9 Beta leaked screenshots already and I’m not going to do it again. The original article covering the topic continues to be available, and it offers my view of the matter at hand. There has been some talk recently about the possibility of a Beta development milestone to follow Platform Preview 3 of Internet Explorer 9. But Microsoft offered no official confirmation in this regard, nor has the company made any indications that it is ready to move beyond developer releases to a testing milestone aimed at the general public.
Still, if the IE9 Beta screenshots are indeed real, and coming from a leaked Build of the browser, the actual bits are bound to hit sooner than later. For the time being, the latest Platform Preview of IE9 is still available for download, and my advice to users is to wait for the real thing from Microsoft and take reports of leaked copies of Internet Explorer 9 Beta with a grain of salt.
Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) Platform Preview 3 Build 1.9.7.8.74.6000 is available for download here.
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