IE9

Live blog: IE9 gets in the Mix

LAS VEGAS--To improve its browser, Microsoft is counting on some help from the PC.

Internet Explorer 9, the next version of Microsoft's browser, will draw on the graphics chip and other hardware to accelerate the rendering of text and graphics from the Web. At the Mix show here on Tuesday, Microsoft is showing some of that code and releasing a "platform preview" of IE9. The code (available here) contains the new engine but is not a full-featured browser.

In an interview ahead of the keynote, IE general manager Dean Hachamovitch said the company plans to update the … Read more

Microsoft modernizes Web ambitions with IE9

For those who doubted that Microsoft was serious in its effort to re-engage with the Web, it's time to put the skepticism aside.

At its Mix conference in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Microsoft gave programmers, Web developers, and the world at large a taste of things to come with its Web browser. Specifically, Microsoft released what it's calling the Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview, a prototype that's designed to show off the company's effort to improve how the browser deals with the Web as it exists today and, just as important, to add support for new Web technologies that are coming right now.

The new software is only a framework, raw enough that it's still missing a "back" button. But with "a few" updated preview versions set to arrive at eight-week intervals, the project will develop into a beta, a release candidate, and eventually the full-fledged product IE9, said Dean Hachamovitch, general manager of Internet Explorer and the executive who'll describe the project at Mix.

Coming in the new version is support for new Web standards including plug-in-free video; better performance with graphics, text, and JavaSript by taking advantage of modern computing hardware; and a new effort at gathering and responding to feedback from those using the prototype software, Hachamovitch said. … Read more

IE 9, Windows Phone in the Mix

This year's Mix trade show won't be the first time that people hear about Internet Explorer 9 or Windows Phone 7 Series, but it is the event where developers will get enough information to start creating products targeting the new browser and mobile operating system.

The three-day Las Vegas event kicks off on Monday, with Windows Phone executive Joe Belfiore talking about the new phone operating system. On Tuesday, Internet Explorer head Dean Hachamovitch is slated to talk IE 9 and I would not be surprised at all if actual code is offered up this time. Microsoft offered a brief glimpse of IE 9 … Read more

Firefox hopes to one-up IE with fast graphics

Last week, Microsoft showed off some browser technology that could help Internet Explorer leapfrog the competition. But if Mozilla succeeds in its hope, Microsoft could be playing catch-up instead.

The technology in question is hardware-accelerated graphics and text using interfaces called Direct2D and DirectWrite that provide an easy way to use graphics cards' computing power. They're built into Windows 7, and Microsoft is bringing them to Windows Vista but not Windows XP.

The performance boost from Direct2D and DirectWrite was the centerpiece of Microsoft's demonstration of Internet Explorer 9 goodies shown last week. Online maps flashed on the … Read more

Microsoft PDC: Lots on Azure, a peek at IE 9

Developers get a full rundown on the cloud-based Azure OS and some tidbits about Microsoft's next browser, along with a beta of Office 2010.

Sinofsky's Windows plan: More data, less testosterone In an interview, the president of Microsoft's Windows unit tells CNET why he does things the way he does. (Posted in Beyond Binary by Ina Fried) November 20, 2009 10:19 AM PST

Windows boss on building his first laptop In an interview, Steven Sinofsky talks about what he learned as Microsoft partnered with Acer to build a laptop to give away to developers. (Posted in … Read more

With IE 9, Microsoft fights back in browser wars

With Internet Explorer 9, Microsoft showed Wednesday it's trying to retake the browser initiative.

IE remains the Net's dominant browser. But perversely, it became something of a technology underdog after Microsoft vanquished Netscape in the browser wars of the 1990s and scaled back its browser effort.

That left an opportunity for rivals to blossom--most notably Firefox, which now is used by a quarter of Web surfers, but also Apple's Safari, which now runs on Windows as well as Mac OS X, and Google's Chrome, which aims to make the Web faster and a better foundation for applications.

Microsoft has been pouring resources back into the IE effort, though, and at its Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles, some fruits of that labor were on display. In particular, Windows unit president Steven Sinofsky showed off IE 9's new hardware-accelerated text and graphics.

The acceleration feature takes advantage of hitherto untapped computing power in a way that's more useful than other browser-boosting technology--Google's Native Client to directly employ PC's processor and Mozilla's WebGL for accelerated 3D graphics, for example--according to Dean Hachamovitch, general manager of Internet Explorer.

"This is a direct improvement to everybody's usage of the Web on a daily basis," Hachamovitch said in an interview after Sinofsky's speech. "Web developers are doing what they did before, only now they can tap directly into a PC's graphics hardware to make their text work better and graphics work better." … Read more

PDC Day 2 live blog: Office 2010, IE 9 on stage

LOS ANGELES--After spending much of Tuesday in the clouds, the second day of the Professional Developers Conference on Wednesday is expected to be far more grounded.

On tap is a discussion of the Office 2010 beta as well as the first details on Internet Explorer 9, although Microsoft is not providing code. Microsoft is also talking about Silverlight 4 and releasing a beta of that product.

8:30 a.m. PT: Windows unit president Steven Sinofsky takes the stage.

Sinofsky said that Microsoft approaches Windows 7 like building a movie theater. Microsoft's job is to provide "great seats, … Read more