Microsoft launches 'Platform Preview' for Internet Explorer 9

by Stevie Smith - Mar 17 2010, 06:53

Microsoft may have been forced to offer European Windows users access to rival platforms when it comes to selecting a browser, but the Redmond-based software company is clearly keen on keeping its own Internet Explorer (IE) at the head of the pack – on merit, rather than just default selection.

Specifically, while Internet Explorer 9 is still many months away from being ready for public consumption, Microsoft has used this week’s MIX developer conference in Las Vegas to cast some light on what faithful IE fans can expect in terms of changes, tweaks and enhancements.

According to Microsoft, Internet Explorer 9 will launch sporting improved speed and performance courtesy of the new “Chakra” JavaScript engine, which will compile on a separate background thread while Windows runs in parallel on another of the host CPU’s cores.

Although not prepared to go into detail, the American software titan also said IE9 will include a number of other design and performance-related improvements, including enhanced responsiveness and better graphics capabilities than previous iterations of Internet Explorer through “hardware-accelerated SVG support.” 

And, in a move to push the browser’s potential, Microsoft has launched the IE9 “Platform Preview” for developers, which will receive a new build every eight weeks and enables software creators to put the browser through its paces and provide valuable feedback based on their experiences.

“The Platform Preview, and the feedback loop it is part of, marks a major change from previous IE releases,” commented Dean Hachamovich, general manager of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer division.

“Combined with our engagement with our standards bodies and the development of industry standard test suites, this open community discussion and earlier and more frequent builds reflect our commitment to the Web,” he added.

Mounting pressure from the European Commission regarding the blanket coverage enjoyed by Internet Explorer recently saw Microsoft issue a patch download that presented all Windows customers in Europe with a browser ‘choice screen’.

This screen provided users with the option of shifting their allegiance from Internet Explorer to any of Microsoft’s browser-making rivals, including the likes of Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Apple Safari and Opera.

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