IE9 Beta Released. And It's Got Major Chops
Microsoft has finally made the beta version of Internet Explorer 9 available, and thus far I'm incredibly impressed.
The latest version addresses a ton of issues that IE8 struggled with, among them HTML 5 support, tear-off tabs, Acid compliance (vastly improved with a scores of 95, which is a huge step up from previous versions, but not the 100 that Chrome, Safari and Opera score) and speed, speed, speed.
Trotted out during a live keynote from Redmond earlier today, IE9 is without question the best version of the browser yet, and this one isn't just playing catch-up, it's starting to lead. For example, prior versions of the browser didn't allow you to tear off tabs; not only is this recitified in IE9, they can be Aero-snapped to the edges of the screen.
But tabs can also be pinned to the task bar, allowing easy access to what becomes a customized version of the browser, displaying the site's icon and changing the colors of the back buttons to match the site color profile (which, buy the way, works with any site - my meat blog, The Meatist, looks great as well)
Even better, sites can choose to code jump list items for those pinned sites, as you can see in this shot from the Amazon jump list:
The search and address bar have been combined into one field, but unlike competitors offerings, you have the option to include search engine responses on the fly. In Chrome, for example, as you type, suggested answers pop up. To provide that functionality, though, keystrokes are transmitted to Google.
With IE9, you have the ability to include such results by sending keystrokes, or simply have it search your history and bookmarks. And the transmission of keystrokes is OFF by default. Plus, if you choose to turn it on, you can select using Google, Bing, Wikipedia or other engines for your instant results.
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