A mini review of Internet Explorer 9 beta

Microsoft Philippines this week launched the latest iteration of its Internet Explorer web browser, which now features a user interface that uses relatively fewer visual elements than its predecessors. The beta version of Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) presents users with a simplified user interface dominated by the forward and back buttons; the address bar; and home, cancel, and refresh buttons. IE9 has opted for what Microsoft calls a "clean browser user interface" which will hopefully enable users to "experience more of what (websites) have to offer," the company said in a press statement. The look is very reminiscent of IE9's direct competitor, Google Chrome. Such comparisons notwithstanding, the revamped interface does open up more screen real estate and is definitely a most welcome feature for many web users. "The browser is the theater, not the play," explained Gian Hiram Javellana, Microsoft Philippines' Online Experience Head, at the local IE9 beta launch in Makati earlier this week. The sudden change in design aesthetics may be briefly bewildering to some users who have grown familiar with Microsoft's previous interfaces. One of the most jarring changes, for example, is the fact that browser notifications (e.g., "Do you want Internet Explorer to remember this password?") now appear at the bottom of the screen instead of at the center, as they did in previous IE versions. IE9 beta also implements two new features called "Pinned Sites" and "Jump Lists" that helps integrate the browser into the Windows interface. "Pinning a site" involves dragging an open website into the Windows taskbar, where it appears as an icon alongside your most-used applications. The icon itself can be programmed to be dynamically updated with information from the website to alert you, for example, of new messages or updates. Right-clicking, on the other hand, opens up a "jump list" of the most often-used actions on a website. For example, right-clicking on Facebook will call up options to view your news feed and latest messages, or to update your status. Under the hood, IE9 beta supports emerging internet protocols, including HTML5, SVG, CSS3, ECMAScript5, and DOM. Microsoft's adoption of these industry standard protocols will help ensure that web pages work and look consistently in various web browsers. You can find out more about IE9 beta by visiting BeautyOfTheWeb.com. - GMANews.TV