IE9

In an effort to bring its Web video technology to a browser that doesn't support it, Google has released an IE9 plug-in to play WebM video.

The move won't bring an end to the industry scuffle over the best way to build video into the Web, but it will mean that allies behind Google's preferred mechanism will be able to reach beyond the three browsers that support WebM today, Google's Chrome, Opera Software's Opera, and Mozilla's Firefox. Apple's Safari and Microsoft's brand-new IE9 support the rival H.264 video codec (though IE9 … Read more

The bottom line: Internet Explorer 9 is surprisingly competitive across the board. Zippy browsing speeds, minimalist layout, and innovative features make this not only the best version of IE to date, but will catapult Internet Explorer back into the browser wars. The one big drawback? You must have Windows 7 or Vista to use it. XP users are stuck on IE8. Forever.

Review: The sound bite on Internet Explorer 9 will be a variation of "it doesn't suck," yet the changes to the browser go far deeper than that glib comment can reflect. Microsoft engineered a campaign, … Read more

AUSTIN, Texas--Just one year after it initially previewed its new Internet Explorer 9 browser, Microsoft formally launched the software today at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival (SXSW), bringing in representatives from launch partners from The Huffington Post, Foursquare, Groupon, and Pandora to demonstrate an experience that looks less like the Web as we know it and more like the app ecosystem of a smartphone or tablet.

"We're used to the Web getting better because of everything other than the PC," Internet Explorer's Dean Hachamovitch said of how the most innovative kinds of Web development have, … Read more

It might seem like the tech news this week has been all about the new iPad, but speedier browser versions grabbed some big headlines as well.

Google on Tuesday released Chrome 10, endowing its browser with faster JavaScript, password synchronization, and a revamped preferences system. Chrome is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Google announced Chrome 10's stable release on its blog but refrained from mentioning its product number. That's in line with the company's effort to focus on features rather than version numbers, which it calls mere milestones. Google tries to get new versions into users' … Read more

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded:

Mozilla ready for Release Candidate 4 test

IE9 gets a release date

Cloud saving coming to PS3

Kinect breaks iPad sales records

New Apple iOS 4.3 now available

Microsoft has taken the training wheels off of Internet Explorer 9, debuting a full-featured browser that has proven to be the fastest, most standards-compliant IE version yet. There's a catch, though: IE 9's not for Windows XP. You'll need Windows 7 or Vista if you want this browser.

And if you're a Microsoft Outlook user prone to rash e-mailing, you might want to check out ToneCheck from Lymbix. This e-mail sentiment analysis app monitors your e-mail's composing window for potential errors of tone, just as spell-check scans for errors of spelling or grammar.

Finally, for … Read more

Microsoft will be formally launching the next version of its Internet Explorer browser, IE9, at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival (SXSWi) on Monday--an interesting place to launch, given that the Austin, Texas, geek fest is packed full of the hordes who have long since ditched Internet Explorer for the decidedly hipper pastures of Firefox, Safari, or Chrome.

The new browser, which had its first and only release candidate land in users' hands in early February, will fully launch to the public at 9 Pacific time that night. In a blog post, Internet Explorer senior director Ryan Gavin described the … Read more

Microsoft's Internet Explorer saw a boost in market share during February, while Mozilla's Firefox dropped, according to new numbers released by the Central Intelligence Agency and analytics firm Netmarketshare.

The shift can be attributed to a re-balancing of Internet users by location, which gave China a healthy boost, while taking away market share percentage from countries that had originally weighed in heavier, such as the United States and part of Western Europe.

"In February, the C.I.A. released new data on how many internet users per country there are. It shows a large increase in the … Read more

The World Wide Web Consortium has approved and published a new browser privacy feature from Microsoft, according to a new IE blog post, opening up for discussion and debate whether the feature should become a Web standard.

Found in the recent release candidate of Internet Explorer 9, Microsoft's new Tracking Protection Lists offer IE users a type of "do not track" feature to help them block advertisers and Web sites from tracking and capturing certain data. The feature works via lists of Web site domains that are downloaded to the browser. If a domain name is on … Read more