A daily digest of IT news, curated from blogs, forums and news sites around the web each morning. We highlight the key commentary and demystify the real story.
The Microsoft IE9 beta is ready. Go get the Internet Explorer 9 beta web browser download, but not until you've read the blogosphere's opinions, in IT Blogwatch...
Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment. Not to mention Tso much pun...
(MSFT)
Preston Gralla gives us reasons to be cheerful:
It's fast ... Faster than Firefox 4 beta. ... It's better-looking. ... Features a cleaner-looking, stripped-down interface.
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It warns you about add-ons' performance problems. ... Automatically warns you via a pop-up ... and let you disable them. ... It integrates with Windows 7. ... You can pin a Web site to the taskbar for easy launching. ... It has a double-duty Address Bar. ... Microsoft calls it One Box. No matter what you call it, it's useful.
Ina Fried says why it's important:
The launch of a new version of Internet Explorer comes as the browser race has become increasingly competitive and more strategically important. ... Though still the market leader with about 60 percent ... [IE] has been ceding share for years, first to Mozilla's Firefox and more recently to Google's Chrome OS.
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Microsoft is eager to show that the PC matters. By using hardware acceleration, Microsoft is hoping to give people a reason to choose Windows. ... The company is adding the notion of reputation to downloads. ... To run the beta software, users need Vista or Windows 7.
Microsoft's Dean Hachamovitch glows with pride:
Our approach in designing a site-centric web browsing experience also involves using everything available around the browser. ... The browser is the stage, or backdrop, for the web, and the sites are the star of the show. ... The design of IE9s frame puts the users focus on the site, not the browser. ... IE9 allows sites to shine.
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IE9 is the first browser to support Aero Snap for tabs. ... IE9s approach involves using what is familiar and available around the browser ... [not] duplicating ... all the functionality that users find around the browser. ... Thank you for visiting www.BeautyOfTheWeb.com and trying the IE9 beta.
Meanwhile, John Gruber muses:
Kind of interesting how web browsers have evolved to expose fewer UI elements. Most apps go the other way over time.
Lee Mathews likes the new download manager:
One incredibly nice new feature ... is an improved download manager. ... You've no doubt seen me complain about Google Chrome's wimpy download manager.
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IE users will finally have a single pane which maintains download history and provides centralized access to running or opening downloaded files.
Harry McCracken urges an open mind:
Ever since Firefox appeared in 2004, Microsoft has struggled to figure out what IE should be. ... Internet Explorer 9 ... is easily the best new version ... in well, in this century: The last IE upgrade ... this pleasing was version 5, which shipped in 1999.
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The arrival of this beta represents the beginning of IEs reemergence rather than its conclusion. Its an impressive beginning, though.
Richi Jenningsis an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and security. A cross-functional IT geek since 1985, you can follow him as @richi on Twitter, pretend to be richij's friend on Facebook, or just use good old email: itbw@richij.com.
