Download Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview Now!
Microsoft made Windows Internet Explorer Platform Preview available to the public today (Click here to download). As the name itself suggests it’s a “Preview” not the software itself. Offered installation only lets you play around with it and browse through the demos listed on the showcase page.
Showcase page has demos listed to give users a sneak peek into the Speed, HTML5 and Graphics capabilities of the browser. The browser in its current stat does not offer much in terms of features and functionality, it does not have an address bar, navigation buttons, IE Menu, etc.. it only installs the rendering and the javascript engine for developers to experience the enhancements of the upcoming browser.
Microsoft is giving a lot of importance to the standards with IE9. It meets 55 out of 100 standards on Acid test. This is much better when compared to the build that was shown at the PCD which scored about 30 on the Acid test.
To test out the IE9 go to http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/ using your browser and click on any of the Speed Demos to check if its fast enough (best test would be Flying Images, Map Zooming or Pulsating Bubbles), or Graphics Demos (Falling Balls) or HTML5 Demos (HTML5 T-Shirt Designer).
Microsoft is still far from done on IE 9 browser. The Internet Explorer Platform Preview will be updated every 8 weeks with performance improvements and added functionality. The 8 weeks gap between each release will give developers required time to get feedback from the users and make changed to the upcoming build.
Microsoft has been losing web browser market share at a steady pace and IE9 could be an important step towards reclaiming the lost share.
