Internet Explorer 9 Launches

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Microsoft has officially launched the release version of Internet Explorer 9 at SXSW Interactive. If you’ve been able to attend the IE9 launch party, then good for you. The rest of us are content with trying out the free download.

Microsoft is clearly highlighting how IE9 is supposed to make the web more beautiful in its download site – www.beautyoftheweb.com. IE9 is an overhaul of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer design both inside out. On the outside, IE9 looks like a clean refresh from the cluttered look of old. Gone are the menubars and toolbars; the tabs, buttons and URL bar (which doubles as a search box) are all inline. Microsoft wants to put the focus on websites rather than the browser.

IE9 also features hardware acceleration for platforms and applications that support it. This includes Microsoft Silverlight, Adobe Flash and HTML5. This means that sites that are heavy on multimedia can benefit from a speed boost by using the GPU resources rather than eating processor cycles or OS resources.

Another highlight is taskbar pinning. Microsoft’s IE9 lets webpages act like standalone applications, complete with jumplists and other notifications Benchmark tests say IE9′s speed is at par with the latest versions of Chrome and Firefox 3.

One feature that might cause controversy, though, is Microsoft’s choice of tracking protection, which can allow third party block lists in IE9. This means that users have a choice of disabling tracking and cookies for certain websites. This is said to have a potential for killing the online advertising business in some scenarios.

Try out IE9 and see for yourself. I’m a Chrome loyalist (switched from Firefox since Chrome launched), but I’m going to give IE9 a test drive these next few weeks.