14 DAY TRIAL // Development on the next generation of Internet Explorer continues, with the first public Beta development milestone of Internet Explorer 9 available for download since September 15th, 2010. But while the IE team is now silent on the evolution of IE9, a third-party source claims that Microsoft is up to version 9.0.8002.6000 with the successor of IE8.
This detail remains unconfirmed by the Redmond company, an aspect which will not change, as the software giant’s policy is to not comment on leaks, rumors, etc.
In mid-September 2010 Internet Explorer 9 Beta Build 9.0.7930.16406 was released to the public, and in this regard, version 9.0.8002.6000 supersedes the original release of IE9.
Of course, with no official confirmation from the software giant of the validity of Build 9.0.8002.6000, any info on this IE9 release needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
A couple of screenshots of IE9 post-Beta Build 9.0.8002.6000 also made their way into the wild.
Still, at this point in time the actual bits for IE9 post-Beta Build 9.0.8002.6000 were not leaked.
There’s very little information available on the latest release of IE9, but my best guess is that this is an interim release of Internet Explorer 9, and that there’s nothing special with it.
Microsoft does put together a large number of interim builds for its software projects, IE included, however, the company releases only the most relevant milestones for testers, unlike other browser vendors that produce a flood of downloads throughout the development process.
The first public development milestone of IE9 is designed as an extremely large Beta. While Build 9.0.7930.16406 is still a Beta and should be treated as such, it is ready for use by the public, not just by early adopters.
In fact, IE8 Beta has been downloaded in excess of 6 million times since launch, more than the RTM versions of rival browsers, and just a few millions short of the entire Beta testing pool that products such as Windows 7 and Office 2010 managed to attract in a single year.
Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) Beta Build 9.0.7930.16406 is available for download here.
