Rather than opening IE9 and punching in an address, users may soon be pinning these “apps” to their taskbar. Thanks to the power of HTML5, many of these partners from Amazon to CNN are taking advantage of IE9’s optimized platform to create immersive app-like experiences. When IE9 officially launches later today, it will do so along with a slew of partners. But for Microsoft, it has become a vehicle for migrating apps to the PC. Many–including Apple–believe it could one day replace Adobe Flash. It boasts incredibly strong media playback and modern Web standards. Boiled down, HTML5 is the next version of HTML, the backbone of Internet–that is, the predominant computer language developers use to build Web pages. Today, the company launched Internet Explorer 9, its latest browser iteration, which fully embraces HTML5. Now Microsoft is trying to bring that same concept to Windows 7. They don’t feel like an installed program–they’re much less clunky–nor a website, which is anything but native. Open-source browser Firefox had been gnawing away at IE's dominance, but that eased as a new rival arrived in the form of Chrome by Internet titan Google.What are apps, other than tiny colorful icons that provide rich, interactive experiences on mobile devices? Think about your iPhone’s New York Times or Facebook app.
IE9 promised to be another hit release for Microsoft, which has seen market successes with Windows 7 operating system and a Kinect motion-sensing controller accessory for Xbox 360 video game consoles. Once a website is reached, the browser seems to step out of the way and almost vanish to spotlight the content. "The browser is the stage and the websites are the stars of the show," Hachamovitch told AFP during an earlier demonstration. Microsoft seems to have hit the mark with IE9, according to analysts. The Redmond, Washington-based technology colossus claims more than one billion Windows customers.
Windows operating systems are at a core of Microsoft's software empire. "We want browsing the Web to be a great experience so people keep choosing Windows to do it." "A browser is important to Microsoft because browsing is the top activity people do on their PCs (personal computers)," Hachamovitch said. While Microsoft doesn't charge separately, the browser is included with Windows software and it is in the technology giant's interest to keep users happy and devoted to its products. "The Web as we know it is taking a huge step forward today," Bixhorn said.
Microsoft director of web services strategy Ari Bixhorn booted up an Apple MacBook Pro laptop running the latest version of Firefox for a side-by-side comparison at a radio station website with rich interactive graphics.Ī laptop powered by Windows and using IE9 smoothly zipped through cascading images illustrating top tunes while the opposition slowly worked its way along. Microsoft showed off a lean, muscular new Internet Explorer crafted to spotlight slick websites and beat back competition from Firefox and Google in the Web browser arena. More than 40 million copies of IE9 have already been downloaded as part of the process leading up to its official release, according to Microsoft. "All of these partners are using IE9 to make a more beautiful Web, starting today." "We have worked with partners reaching a billion active Internet users," Hachamovitch said.
The long list of partners that have adapted websites to IE9 includes Facebook, Twitter, Pandora, Hulu, and Yahoo!, according to Microsoft. IE9 is built to make the most of Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows 7, as well as graphics processing chips that can power videos, games, graphics and other stunning visuals. "It's a really good day for the Web," Hachamovitch said. Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) is available for download in 30 languages at. "Things are about to change," Microsoft corporate vice president Dean Hachamovitch said at a press conference at the South By Southwest Interactive technology festival in Texas.
Microsoft's latest version of Internet Explorer Web browsing software is available for free online.