anyweb Posted March 15, 2011 Report post Posted March 15, 2011 When Microsoft first introduced Internet Explorer 9 at PDC in November 2009, it didn't show much. A few benchmarks, some talk about the technologies that the browser would use, and a little information about the direction that development would take. But it was a significant event nonetheless. After years of playing catch-up—the stopgap Internet Explorer 7 added tab support, and then the solid Internet Explorer 8, which offered little in the way of support for new Web innovations—Microsoft was starting to position its browser not only as good, but able to take on the competition and be best in class. And with the release today of Internet Explorer 9, the company has gone on to deliver just that—IE9 is the most modern browser there is. Microsoft set out to do four things with IE9. The browser had to be fast, it had to be standards-compliant, it had to be trustworthy, and it had to put the focus on sites and Web content, rather than the browser. Ars has been following the browser's development since the first public preview in March 2010, with extensive coverage of the beta and release candidate, but those major points are still worth looking at. Focus on sites Internet Explorer 7, and then Chrome, have ushered in a trend for stripped-down browser interfaces. Internet Explorer 7 ditched the menu bar by default (though this default was later changed), and Chrome took this design a step further by putting its tabs on top and all but abandoning the toolbar concept. Internet Explorer 9 builds on—or rather, subtracts from—the work done in previous Internet Explorer versions. Its interface is stripped down, clean, and simple. The intent is that the site should be the focus, not the browser frame. So tabs have moved alongside the address bar—though they can be moved below it if desired—the status and menu bars are gone by default, the toolbars are gone by default, and the icons on the buttons use new artwork. read the entire story > http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/reviews/2011/03/the-most-modern-browser-there-is-internet-explorer-9-reviewed.ars Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...