14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 10 Technical Preview is already here, so anybody can see what's new in the operating system, but there's one major thing missing from the testing tidbits in this new Microsoft product: Internet Explorer 12.
Word has it that Microsoft is already developing Internet Explorer 12, and even though little is known about the project right now, it appears that the company is getting ready for some pretty big improvements for all user categories that will install the upcoming browser.
In a tweet posted today, the Internet Explorer team has revealed that they are now working on a revamp of the F12 developer tools and asked users to submit feedback about the ways that the company can improve this side of the browser.
Feedback has become an important part of Microsoft's development process, and this mostly happens since Satya Nadella replaced Steve Ballmer at the helm of the company. User feedback is now required for pretty much every single project within the company, so Internet Explorer doesn't make any exception to this rule.
New design for F12 developer tools
A photo posted by the Internet Explorer team also shows the work that has been completed so far, revealing that the F12 developer tools have been improved to show more information on the screen without affecting usability in any way.
As the picture reveals, tool navigation is now along the top of the window, so the icons have been removed and replaced with text, while badges are shown after their respective tools. The existing keyboard shortcuts still work, Microsoft says.
The company claims that all these changes are supposed to lead to an “overflow design” that would also include badges, such as error active profilers, displayed in the drop down menu for easy access.
Internet Explorer 12 internally called Spartan
The new F12 developer tools might be included in Internet Explorer 12, the upcoming version of the browser that's very likely to be included in Windows 10.
According to people close to the matter, Internet Explorer 12 is internally called Spartan, but the name is very unlikely to be used for the final product as well.
The new version of the browser is expected to bring quite a lot of improvements, including those in terms of usability and looks, so the application will also have a new tab bar placed at the top of the screen.
At the same time, Microsoft is said to be working on making add-on and extensions compatible with Internet Explorer, in an attempt to significantly improve the usability of the browser on Windows 10.
We’re redesigning the F12 tool navigation in response to your feedback, have a look and tell us what you think! pic.twitter.com/olyrLXG88T
— IE Dev Chat (@IEDevChat) November 5, 2014
