Internet Explorer 9 beta shifts two million downloads without XP support
by Steven Mostyn - Sep 22 2010, 06:37
Popular even though it doesn't support XP. Image: Microsoft.
Already critically acclaimed despite being unfinished, Microsoft’s recently released Internet Explorer 9 beta is proving to be extremely popular with general users, not just the tech experts labelling it as the future of Web browsing.
More pointedly, Redmond-based Microsoft is positively beaming after more than two million downloads of the Internet Explorer 9 beta were processed during the first 48 hours of the software being launched.
“The initial reaction has been pretty overwhelming,” commented Internet Explorer product manager Roger Capriotti in a Microsoft blog post. “By comparison, when Internet Explorer 8 beta launched in August 2008, we had 1.3 million downloads over the first five days.”
Public interest surrounding Internet Explorer 9 is not just limited to the beta, with Capriotti also keen to point out that around nine million visitors have perused the accompanying ‘Beauty of the Web’ portal, building more than 26 million page views since the beta was released on September 15.
While Internet Explorer 9 has earned plenty of plaudits for its streamlined design, tighter interface and use of hardware acceleration to boost performance, its impressive two million downloads pale somewhat beside the launch-day popularity of rival platform Firefox.
Created by open-source corporation Mozilla, version 3.0 of the Firefox browser shifted a staggering 8.3 million downloads during its first 24 hours of availability back in June of 2008.
That being said, the traction gathered by Internet Explorer 9 is still noteworthy, not least because the browser has been created specifically for systems running Windows 7 and Windows Vista – those running Windows XP (still the largest slice of Microsoft’s user base) cannot download the new beta.
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