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Five things average users will love about Internet Explorer 9
Now that the initial hands-on reports are out, and the beta download for Internet Explorer 9 is publicly available, IE loyalists (and those who simply didn't realize there were other browsers) can finally get a taste of the competitive, fast, modern browser. IE9 has a lot of great features that more savvy users know about, understand, and love -- like solid HTML5, faster JavaScript engine, and hardware acceleration -- but there's also a lot for the Average Joe to love, too!
The new address bar
By combining the address bar and search bar (as Google did in Chrome), there's no longer the question of "where do I type X to get to Y?" There's one box. Just type in it. At last, there will be no more "I typed teamviewer.com in the box, and all I see is a Google page with a bunch of writing!"
By combining the address bar and search bar (as Google did in Chrome), there's no longer the question of "where do I type X to get to Y?" There's one box. Just type in it. At last, there will be no more "I typed teamviewer.com in the box, and all I see is a Google page with a bunch of writing!"
The new download manager
Ever downloaded a file and forgot where you saved it? Everyone has at one time or another, and a download manager is a very good way to eliminate that frustration. Internet Explorer 9 features a floating download manager (like the one in Firefox), which maintains a list of all your downloads so that you don't have to sift through your folders to find that file you just finished downloading.
The list is even searchable, which makes short work of locating a specific file in a lengthy download history.
The list is even searchable, which makes short work of locating a specific file in a lengthy download history.
A lot of the Internet Explorer users that I support wind up with a handful of toolbars and search add-ons installed -- and they rarely know how it happened. A good number of those add-ons make IE needlessly slow, and they can be downright irritating.
Older versions already featured a simple interface to manage and disable add-ons, but IE9 takes things a step further. It will alert users when a new add-on installs and offer to intervene once total "add-on time" exceeds a specified number of seconds. As you can see, even Microsoft's own add-ons can cause a great deal of startup lag -- but Internet Explorer 9 is happy to disable them for you with minimal fuss.
One unexpected discovery I made while testing Internet Explorer 9 is that it's really good at zooming. The image above was captured while zoomed too 400%, and the type looks incredibly crisp and readable. For older users -- who traditionally haven't been quick to use an alternative browser -- this is going to be a very welcome change. Several of my customers browse with their zoom set to 200%, and IE9 definitely handles the magnification better than previous versions.
So long, MSN.com! Internet Explorer follows the lead of Opera and Chrome by displaying your most-visited sites in two rows of five. In addition to making it easier to click through to favorite sites from the get-go, the page also includes buttons to reopen recently closed tabs or to relaunch the last browsing session.
Internet Explorer 9 is leaps and bounds ahead of its predecessors, and there's plenty inside to like -- no matter what kind of user you are.
Comments
18
Subscribe to commentsinivuxSep 16th 2010 11:26AM
You know what they say about imitation ...
Funny how there are so many references to Chrome in this article. I don't think it's any coincidence that IE9 is essentially a mashup of all the best features of the other browsers that have consistently blown IE out of the water for 10+ years now.
Innovation is mostly dead. Microsoft is mostly a follower.
SanjisanSep 16th 2010 12:43PM
The best feature Microsoft could give IE 9 is the ability to uninstall.
GraceSep 17th 2010 3:09PM
exactly. I don't like the new IE, I'd much rather go back to IE8.. I try to download IE8 and it won't work, and I don't see any way to uninstall IE9 yet >_>
mohsenu88Sep 16th 2010 1:22PM
could you offer me an alternative to "foxyproxy" for IE?
KrazyCalvinSep 16th 2010 1:49PM
Still using firefox because of adblock plus. Is there an IE9 alternative created yet?
hectormaciasa79Sep 16th 2010 2:06PM
As a Ubuntu user Im specially interested that IE9 adopts standars, thats the only thing I care about. If MS delivers I will applause.
ArielSep 16th 2010 3:01PM
It's great that it's got nearly complete CSS standards support, but what sucks now is that it doesn't support XP (by FAR Microsoft's most widely used OS) so what good will it do to us web developers?
PS I had a problem where IE9 wouldn't show graphics in Parallels (both Parallels 5 and 6). The solution was to disable GPU graphics in the Internet options.
DrakkenfyreSep 16th 2010 6:52PM
They want Windows XP to die.
But it doesn't make sense, whereas most corporate environments still use Windows XP. But I guess by that same token, most corporate environments still use IE 6.
Sebastian AnthonySep 16th 2010 4:04PM
I like all of that, and I ain't average! (Nice guide :)
SirotnikovSep 16th 2010 6:25PM
No new hardware accelerated engine is going to help when your main browser is a sad piece of BLOAT.
Look at the times mentioned in the ADDONS screenshot:
9.2 seconds! That's an insane amount of time, and it happens EACH TIME YOU OPEN A TAB!
That has to be the dumbest architecture ever.
Also, whose add-ons are worst? Why it's Microsoft's own Search Helper and MSN Chat.
Any of you using IE are welcome to take a peek at their add-ons to find the amount of bloatware that auto-installs without ever asking you.
And you think IE is ever going to be fast?
meSep 17th 2010 2:33PM
It's 0.2 seconds.
aidan.cageSep 16th 2010 9:28PM
it won't even download for me. The link to the download Oops!'s in chrome. I think it's a sign to avoid it altogether, even though I was initially intrigued...
RoyalKnightSep 17th 2010 1:14AM
Great guide, Lee! First time I've seen someone hit on the major features so neatly and in as few words as necessary.
AurrinSep 17th 2010 5:41AM
While I doubt it will ever be enough to draw away the power-users who live off their add-ons (myself included), or the die-hard MS hater club, it's really good to see Microsoft finally taking this seriously and making a solid default browser offering for use with the OS. As for feature-copying, it's absurd to point and call names when copying features is the industry standard. (Every one of the major browsers has blatantly stolen features from it's rivals.) If IE *didn't* have such features, people would be pointing out how 'behind-the-times' it is.
Speaking of feature copying, how long will it take for Firefox to copy the add-on monitoring? I could really use some help narrowing down which add-ons are slowing it down.
JamesSep 20th 2010 2:14PM
I'm a power user and I'm definitely moving to IE9. Why? I'm sick of Firefox's lack of support for full screen mode at startup. Why do I have to press F11 every time I start Firefox. Why can't it simply start in full screen mode? IE8 has this as a default behaviour.
jtjSep 17th 2010 7:19AM
"At last, there will be no more "I typed teamviewer.com in the box, and all I see is a Google page with a bunch of writing!""
Wrong! A large percentage of my customers don't realise the address bar exists - they have Google as their homepage and just type the web address in there... I usually now get customers to press Windows+R to get the Run dialog, so there's no distractions - just one edit box and an OK button.
jfjbSep 17th 2010 3:57PM
IE what?
isotrexSep 20th 2010 1:25AM
Yeah, IE9 looks and works freakin' awesome. Hopefully we'll get add-ons for free. Not a gay pay to use lame add-ons.