ie9

Internet Explorer's growth slowed once again, and Chrome shook off its slump in August, new statistics show.

Although Microsoft made progress in its goal to exterminate IE6 in favor of IE8's more modern and secure design, Internet Explorer overall slipped from 60.7 percent to 60.4 percent of global usage, as measured by Net Applications.

Chrome had slipped for the first time in its history, sinking to 7.2 percent in July, but returned to growth with 7.5 percent of August usage, Net Applications said.

Mozilla's Firefox market share was essentially flat, with 22.9 … Read more

The official Google blog on Tuesday posted a link to an experimental music video for the Arcade Fire song "We Used To Wait" that shows off the capabilities of HTML5 with Google's Chrome browser.

I gave it a run earlier this afternoon. After I followed the instructions to close other applications and enter my home address, the video took about 15 seconds to start. My first impression was a flashback of visiting shady Web sites back in the days before pop-up blockers existed: a cascade of no fewer than eight browser windows opened, and trying to close … Read more

Thanks to Microsoft's Russian subsidiary, the world now has a pretty good idea of what Internet Explorer 9 will look like.

The Russian folks were kind enough to briefly post an image and some details that had yet to be shared about the browser. And although they pulled it down, ZDNet blogger Mary Jo Foley captured the information and screenshot.

More than anything else, the screenshot shows a browser that attempts to offer a minimalistic user interface and leave as much room as possible for the Web sites. When combined with the browser's hardware acceleration, the hope is … Read more

Thanks to corporate use and ties to Windows, Internet Explorer has remained dominant in the browser space ever since it won the first browser wars with Netscape a decade ago.

However, by allowing the browser to stagnate after the release of Windows XP in 2001, Microsoft created an opening that paved the way for the rise of Firefox and, more recently, Google's Chrome.

As a result Internet Explorer celebrates its 15th birthday Monday as market leader and like an upstart trying to compete against powerful rivals.

Arguably, the browser has never been more important--or competitive. As of July, Microsoft … Read more

On today's show, you can finally tell people that you read Playboy for the articles ... and have it be the truth! At least if you shell out $5 for the Playboy iPad app. Also, Oracle sues Google over Android, and it doesn't look good for Google. Plus, the brewing Apple vs. BBC cage match. Our prediction: Apple wins. Apple always wins.

Microsoft plans to launch the beta of the Internet Explorer browser on Sept. 15, according to a blog post on Thursday.

The software maker has scheduled an event in San Francisco to mark the arrival of the beta, billing the event (and the browser) as highlighting "the beauty of the Web." Microsoft also sent packages to reporters containing a variety of art supplies, such as crayons and fingerpaints, inside a box with an IE logo.

That Microsoft is holding a launch event reflects the resurgent importance of the browser and the degree to which Redmond is counting on … Read more

Microsoft is getting close to releasing a beta version of Internet Explorer 9--the company's latest bid to regain lost ground in the browser market.

At last month's financial analyst meeting, Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner casually mentioned that the beta would be coming in September. Microsoft has already shown the revamped IE9 engine through a series of public preview releases, but next month's beta will be the first chance to see what IE9 has in store in terms of its look and feel.

The current preview version, released last week, shows some of the features of the browser--including support for hardware acceleration and HTML5. The company has also significantly sped up its JavaScript engine, a feature that is often used in comparing browsers and one in which IE has badly trailed its major rivals.

However, the preview version focuses on showing off the new rendering engine and lacks even the most basic navigational features such as an address bar or back button.

Microsoft has been largely mum on what to expect as far as the design of IE9's interface, but in an interview with CNET on Wednesday, Ryan Gavin said that the goal is to get out of the way and let the content shine.

"The browser is the theater," Gavin said. "We're not the play." … Read more

In a modest boost for a brand-new Google effort to overhaul Web video, Microsoft said Wednesday it will "support" the open-source, royalty-free WebM technology--as long as Windows users install software on their own.

Google launched the WebM project Wednesday at Google I/O, drawing support from Mozilla and Opera for the video technology based on its VP8 video encoding technology. Microsoft offered a lukewarm statement on the matter:

"When it comes to video and HTML5, we're all in. In its HTML5 support, IE9 will support playback of H.264 video as well as VP8 video when … Read more

In an Australian marketing campaign, Microsoft is urging those using Internet Explorer 6 to upgrade already.

"You wouldn't drink nine-year-old milk, so why use a nine-year-old browser?" asks the Web site urging IE6 users to upgrade to something closer to the front of the fridge.

The shelf life of software and dairy products is not often considered to be in the same range, but leaving that aside, Microsoft does offer a good reason to upgrade: better security.

"When Internet Explorer 6 was launched in 2001, it offered cutting-edge security--for the time. Since then, the Internet has … Read more