Microsoft's WINNING STRATEGY for Internet Explorer 9? "Compatible only with Windows 7 and Vista."

[Amerigo Vespucci]

The latest version of Microsoft's web browser, Internet Explorer 9 Beta, is available for download today, and the update, dubbed the "most ambitious browser release Microsoft has ever undertaken" by ZDNet, is being scrutinized closely.

Internet Explorer 9 Beta has gotten a major makeover, a host of new features, and speedier performance. It is still a beta, however, and, as PC World notes, there are a few "rough spots." Microsoft is expected to release a polished version sometime later this year or in early 2011, according to Wired.

Take a look at what reviewers, such as Wired, Technologizer, PC World, and ZDNet, are saying about Internet Explorer 9 in the slideshow below. (You can download Internet Explorer 9 Beta here. Note: It is compatible only with WIndows 7 and Windows Vista, )

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/15/internet-explorer-9-beta-_1_n_718000.html

[beyurslf]

1. That's the beta version. I am sure the full release will be available for all

Windows formats. I use firefox and safari anyway.

[MilesColtrane]

4. I didn't think MS is interested in adapting this for XP.

If anything, they want XP users to upgrade. This will be another step in gently coercing them to do just that.

[emilyg]

13. I love my xp.

[applegrove]

19. I plan on never getting rid of my xp. LOL What are the chances of that!

[digitaln3rd]

5. It won't.

It relies on DX10, which is incompatible with Windows XP.

Don't understand why they'd want to limit their audience to just Vista/7 but it doesn't really concern me as I'm on a Mac.

[Spike89]

10. XP users not a likely audience anyway

Writing the program to be compatible with XP would result in a compromised version for Vista/7. Sometimes you just can't support old technology.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

7. I wasn't sure about that...the article did state it explicitly

I pretty much use every Web browser because I design sites for a living, among other things. Firefox is my primary but I have to view the sites in IE too...multiple versions, in fact. I have Versions 5.5, 6, 7 & 8 installed. Wish I didn't, but I.E. 6 is notorious for incompatibility issues and I have clients who still use it.

[Ian David]

2. I like the paperclip that comes up and says, "You appear to be searching for porn." n/t

[Toucano]

20. LOL n/t

[ourbluenation]

3. could care less...I'm all about firefox n/t

[OnionPatch]

22. Same here.

I was slammed with so much spyware and viruses from IE that I switched several years back, and I have no regrets.

[bullwinkle428]

30. Me three, with a side dish of Opera!

[Warpy]

6. No thanks, Microschlock

Instead of releasing more and more bloatware operating systems that take more and more elaborate hardware to support it, Microschlock needs to re release WinXP, especially for the home user like me who has a lot of stuff that simply won't run on Win7. It's all stuff I need, so forget about upgrading. I'll be downgrading, thanks.

[rbixby]

29. Unfortunately that's the march of progress

XP was a great operating system, but as it was written it can't take advantage of most of the new hardware out there, so you're stuck with a max of 2GB of memory and 2TB of drive space, as well as being unable to take advantage of the 64 bit architecture that all of the new processors use. As long as you plan on keeping your old hardware, that's fine, but hardware developers are really phasing out their compatibility with XP. You have remember that its nearly 10 year old technology. I definitely have to agree that Vista was a terrible operating system, particularly with the way the user interface was set up, but Windows 7 is much, much better.
As far as the software goes, that does suck, but again, its progress, and eventually everyone will be forced to get on the bandwagon. It sucks having to re-buy software and stuff like that, but they can't keep supporting the 32 bit architecture for much longer, since it constrains the performance of computers so much. I've definitely felt the crunch here at work, with having to buy new versions of a lot of old standby software, but that's just the way it is.

[anthroguy101]

8. Chrome FTW nt

[dem mba]

39. agreed

i used firefox for a while because i liked its open framework and ability to customize with extensions. but chrome is easier to use and just a more pleasurable browsing experience.

IE9 can suck it.

[Scout]

9. meh, i use firefox ... hate explorer! n/t

[BellaLuna]

11. I really like google chrome

I haven't used IE in years.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. A new version of a web browser won't be available for an obsolete OS?

As a proud GEOS user, I'm outraged.

[hunter]

32. I still run GEOS occasionally.

From my desktop:



My computers seem to be immortal. The hardware may be long dead but the software and data live on in virtual reality.

[IDemo]

15. I only use Exploder at work

Because most of the sites on the network there require it (MS SharePoint, etc).

[customerserviceguy]

16. XP support is supposed to end in 2014

At that time, it will be 13 years old. That's pretty long for something like an operating system.

I have to admit, I was prejudiced against Vista, then I acquired a used laptop that had it installed. After some reconfiguring to make sure it didn't ask my permission before I got up to get a sip of water, I find it's not too bad. It's mostly tough finding all of the places they put my old familiar parts of the system, but the help feature's not bad for that.

Yes, it does take a lot of processing power, but that's gotten cheap. I bought the three-year old laptop for a hundred bucks, and souped it up with another $240 for a 640 gig HD and upgrade from one to four gigs of RAM, and it really is the best computer in my home. Including the one that I'm posting this on.

[PBS Poll-435]

17. XP until the mf'er shuts down

:)

[eyeofdelphi]

18. compatible my ass!

this laptop is all i have and it came with vista (which i really really hate). i was checking my email like an hour ago and the box popped up and wanted me to upgrade to explorer 9. so i downloaded it, then it told me it wasn't compatible. wtf? i know i definately have vista cuz i'm always complaining about it. ah well. i don't really care. at least DU is still compatible with my computer.

[HopeHoops]

21. People are still using IE?

:shrug:

[Mudoria]

23. Every day... without a problem

[HopeHoops]

24. IE pretty much IS the problem.

You might as well put out a sign that says "COME HACK MY SYSTEM" and then go take a dump while you wait for it to do something simple. Damn is it slow.

[Renew Deal]

36. Maybe you haven't been paying attention

But there's tons of patches and fixes posted for Firefox and Safari.

[HopeHoops]

45. Yeah, and they actually keep up on things. M$ makes you download the whole fucking Windows Update.

I got really pissed recently because I had to restore a Vista machine and SP1 is no longer available except as the huge corporate download. You need SP1 in order to install SP2 (which you CAN directly download). SP1 put me in a bind. The M$ site said to get it through Windows Update. Windows Update was freezing. The solution to it freezing is to install SP1. The M$ site said to get it through Windows Update. (Continue circular problem).

I happened to need SP1 for another machine as well so I just said fuck it and downloaded the corporate update (with 5 languages). At least it worked, but how much of a problem would it be for M$ to just put SP1 up as an individual download?

[Renew Deal]

46. I don't get your complaint

It's available for download. You downloaded it and it worked. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?familyid=b0c7136d-5ebb-413b-89c9-cb3d06d12674&displaylang=en

[HopeHoops]

47. Okay, I'm impressed. I spent quite a while looking for that and couldn't find it.

The one I ended up with was three times that size and had two warnings of the "DO NOT DOWNLOAD unless you're installing on multiple machines" nature because of the size. It also took forever to install (at least as far as service packs are concerned). SP2 was quick in comparison.

Anyway, thanks for the link. That's a different file and probably contains only the stuff I really want or need. I don't know what happened. The MSDN site used to be so clean and simple to navigate (at least in the NT days). Did a sadist take over operations?

On Edit: I refer to M$ service packs as "fudge packs" most of the time. I've had to fix way too many systems to count where someone installed a fudge pack and it hosed up the machine. The Vista SPs so far haven't caused such problems and Win 7 has been taking care of it on its own. Win 7 is pretty decent for an M$ OS.

[Raineyb]

27. I stopped using it years ago.

:shrug:

Still have to put up with it on my sister's computer. Every time I download Firefox onto her computer her idiot ex keeps removing it. Damn arrogant fuck thinks he knows more about everything than everyone.

On the few occasions when some website refuses to cooperate with Firefox (Young Turks hint hint your video player...) I have an add on that allows me to look at the page as though I were on IE. There's no need for me to even HAVE IE on the computer.

[Renew Deal]

37. Is it your computer or his computer?

It's pretty obnoxious to install software on someone elses computer.

[HopeHoops]

43. Even thought M$ still claims it is a necessary component for Windows.

Which is total bullshit. They proved it wasn't necessary to settle a lawsuit in Germany a few years ago.

On Edit: It was M$ that proved it, not someone else.

[Roland99]

25. Well, it only makes sense! With Vista, the hardware drivers were changed greatly

I'm really looking forward to my new PC and Windows 7 and IE 9.

We've already done some testing with our internal web app and IE 9 is blowing Firefox away in terms of the Javascript engine. Using the GPU is something they should have done long ago.

And support for CSS 3 finally? Ahhh...look at those beautiful rounded corners!!

[Upton]

26. XP is old and IE is garbage..

I don't understand why anybody is still using either one..

[Renew Deal]

35. XP is reliable and IE works

That's why.

[Roland99]

28. Why Designers and Developers Should Care About Internet Explorer 9

Why Designers and Developers Should Care About Internet Explorer 9
http://mashable.com/2010/09/15/designers-developer-ie-9/

The new IE 9 is faster and more efficient. In the modern browser wars, JavaScript is becoming the new battleground for speed supremacy. Right now, Google() is really taking charge with its V8 JavaScript engine, but Microsoft isn’t backing down with its new engine, dubbed Chakra.

Chakra is similar to V8 in that it can run JavaScript directly from the processor, rather than through some sort of layer. That means that animations and scripts can run faster and with less overhead.

Chakra has also been optimized for modern hardware, so if you’re running IE 9 on a multi-core Windows() 7 machine, you can really see a big difference in performance, especially when several highly intensive web apps are open at one time.

As we’ve discussed before, Microsoft is also taking charge on making sure IE 9 has support for GPU acceleration. By using the graphics card rather than the CPU to offload things like animations, you can get higher frame rates, more detail and use less processor resources.

[meegbear]

31. And your point caller?

That's the strategy they're using - update or die!

My company has Office 2007 and our email provider gives accounts copies of Outlook. We wanted to try Outlook 2010, but it's "configured" so you can't install it if you have any previous (non-2010) Office apps on your machine.

Now THAT'S being a dick.

[L0oniX]

33. Change to BSD or Debain, use KDE, FF, Tbird, Open Office and get another 10 years use...

out of your old machine.

[Renew Deal]

34. The problem is that it's difficult to advance in technology while you coddle old technology.

Apple figured this out 10 years ago and Microsoft has started to catch up. At some point you have to cut the old stuff loose. Windows XP came out 9 years ago!

[madokie]

38. Damned if I'm not happy I switched to linux about 6 maybe 8 months ago

I'm running ubuntu 10.10 beta right now and loving it big time.
Microshaft has gotten the last penny out of me, mind you, that is after they soaked me for close to a thousand bucks before I decided enough is enough.

They'll have to pry my cold dead fingers off this linux keyboard is all I know.

[KansasVoter]

40. Shit, how long should they support XP losers? Upgrade or stop whining!

[LAGC]

42. Hey, up yours, pal.

Some of us haven't been able to afford a new machine in the last 5 years. If you haven't noticed, we are in a recession.

I have a 7-year-old 2.0Ghz box with 1GB RAM that is running Windows XP just fine doing what I need it to do.

Can't play the latest fancy 3-D games, but I wouldn't expect it to. For general web-browsing, e-mailing, office productivity tasks, it still works just fine.

I use Firefox anyway, so I could care less about IE9.

[DAMANgoldberg]

41. Two Words...

Firefox 4

[MyNameGoesHere]

44. WHAT! it's not compatible with DOS? HOLY SHIT!

uh things do advance and some things are left better dead.