Counting the seconds remaining until the release of Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) Beta? You’re probably not alone, considering that there already have in excess of 2.5 million downloads of the browser when it was in developer preview mode, namely not really a full browser.

Come September 15th, and the Beauty of the Web launch event in San Francisco, IE9 will take a major step in its evolution, and one that will bring with it major advances across the table, from modern web standards support, to enhanced performance, improved UX, etc.

Recent information made public by Microsoft Russia revealed that IE9 Beta will kick up a notch the navigation experience from a redesigned UI to augmented tabbed browsing.

It’s extremely interesting to give some extra thought on the details shared by the Redmond company, inadvertently, and still not confirmed officially, navigation-wise.

Granted, the automated translation from Russian, performed by tools such as Google Translate or the Bing Translator is bound not to be fully accurate. Still, the details are better than nothing.

Overhauled UI

From the one screenshot provided by Microsoft Russia it is clear that the software giant has worked to revamp the browser’s UI, focusing on a minimalist design.

The redesign brings websites to center-stage, with as much as the screen real estate space available reserved for websites rather than being crowded with elements belonging to the browser.

In a sense, Microsoft continues the work it started with projects such as Bing, by cutting down overload, and pushing IE9 to the background, allowing the web experiences to come into the limelight.

Support for modern web standards including HTML5, CSS3, DOM L2 and L3, SVG, ECMAScript5 in concert with hardware acceleration are part of the company’s vision to make Cloud applications look and feel like desktop apps.

A very subtle IE9 presence will only help narrow the gap between the web and the desktop.

Additional changes involve an enhanced Back button, the Address Bar and the default search field being melted into each-other and sporting new privacy advances.

More importantly is the mention of centralization of old menus into a single Menu, a move which can only indicate that IE9 has also embraced the Ribbon/Fluent UI design.

Windows integration

In my view, one of the best things about Internet Explorer is the deep level of integration with the underlying operating system.

It used to be that the two were inseparable, although this is not the case anymore, but still, IE more than any browser hooks into the core of Windows, making use of the operating systems features and capabilities.

With IE9, this integration spans from under-the-hood security mitigations such as the UAC and supporting hardware acceleration through DirectX 11 APIs, to the surface, where favorite websites will be launched straight from the Windows Taskbar.

Microsoft mentions that users will not even be required to launch Internet Explorer 9. Instead, specific websites can be pinned to the taskbar just as any other application in Windows 7, through an option in the Address Bar or by simply dragging a tab on the Superbar.

Sites pinned to the Windows Taskbar will feature their own icon, and will, for all purposes intended function like an app.

Like I mentioned above, various aspects of IE’s evolution make it possible for Cloud apps to function in the same manner as desktop applications.

With Internet Explorer 9 and Windows 7, Microsoft makes an important step toward enabling users to embrace the Cloud more than any other browser, although rivals are bound to catch up in the future.

Tabbed browsing on steroids

Tabbed browsing will move to the next level in IE9. Again, it’s the level of integration between IE9 and Windows 7 that will make this possible.

According to Microsoft, users will be able to tear-off tabs and use them in conjunction with the Windows Aero Snap feature.

The new feature will allow more of a website to be displayed simultaneously, apparently more than a single browser window is capable of delivering.

Counting the seconds

IE9 has certainly generated a huge amount of interest and enthusiasm from early adopters, developers and users.

I covered both the launches of IE7 and IE8, and it’s clear to me that IE9 is outperforming both in terms of the love it’s already getting.

And I’m more than sure that the details made public ahead of schedule will only feed customers’ appetite, rather than anything else.

With the four Platform Preview releases of IE9, the Redmond company has made it clear that IE9 is a totally different Internet Explorer. Users should prepare for the Beta to confirm this.