Internet Explorer 9 Beta shows promise

There is a lot for users and designers to like in Microsoft's new browser, says Dave Bailey

Microsoft has seen Internet Explorer’s market share decline from about 95 per cent eight years ago to 60 per cent today. But with the launch of the beta of Internet Explorer 9 (IE9), the software giant made clear its intention to lure users back from the competition.

Improvements in IE9 include browser hardware acceleration, a faster JavaScript engine, better adherence to web standards and a range of usability and security enhancements.

However, the final version of IE9, expected next year, will lack Windows XP support. Given that many enterprises have yet to commit to Windows 7, it is hard to predict IE9 uptake.

This review of IE9 was carried out on a fully patched install of Windows Vista Business with Service Pack 2 and on a fully patched version of Windows 7 Ultimate.

The only problem with the install was that once IE9 was on Vista the browser kept crashing when opened, which was due to an old dynamic link library file. Updating the .dll solved the problem.

Performance improvements
Microsoft has focused a lot of effort on performance, including developing a new JavaScript engine – the part of a web browser that dynamically generates web pages.Codenamed Chakra, the engine compiles JavaScript in the background on a separate CPU core, in parallel to running IE. JavaScript is an interpreted language, which runs slower than compiled languages, so compiling the code in parallel speeds browser performance.

To check the execution speed of Chakra, we ran the Apple Webkit team’s SunSpider performance benchmark, which tests browsers’ JavaScript engines when executing 3D, cryptographic, maths, search and string algorithms.

Under Windows Vista, IE9 registered a twelvefold performance improvement over IE8. Under Windows 7, performance was seven times better.

We ran the test on the current version of other browsers – Firefox v3.6.10, Chrome v6.0.472.63, Opera v10.62 and Safari v5.0.2 – and saw similar p erformance to that for IE9 on Vista.

Usability enhancements
Pinned web sites: IE9 lets users save time by pinning a web site to the taskbar (on Windows 7 only) or dropping it on the desktop. To use the feature, drag the graphic next to the URL to the taskbar or desktop. To open a web page, click on the taskbar icon or desktop icon and go straight to the site.

Combined search and URL address bar (pictured above): Microsoft has combined the search box with the URL address bar. Google Chrome already has this feature. When you type search terms into the address bar it offers search suggestions, just as the existing search box does. You can set the URL address bar to use your chosen search engine.

Jumplists: Jumplists are another time-saving feature that let you jump to a specific section of a web page, if the web site supports jumplists. Web developers need to add a line of HTML to support each listed jump.

Security
Microsoft has added a download manager to IE9 so users can check for malicious downloads. It activates when the user downloads a file. After downloading, the file is scanned for viruses with Microsoft’s own technology before the user can run the file.

Web standards support
A wholesale move by all browser vendors to full web standards support would help developers write browser-independent web sites. To assess web standards support we used the Acid3 Web Standards Project test page.

IE8 failed the test, scoring 20 out of 100, but IE9 scored 95 out of 100, showing the progress Microsoft has made. In comparison, Firefox v3.6.10 scored 94 and Chrome 6.0.472.63 and Opera 10.62 both scored 100.

Microsoft has incorporated the yet-to-be-ratified HTML5 standard into IE9 so developers can expect to see improved video performance, especially when combined with hardware acceleration, and should find web sites easier to maintain.

Conclusion
The performance and usability enhancements mean this browser release could well halt, or even reverse, the slide in IE’s market share. But other vendors are working hard on performance – Firefox and Chrome have graphics hardware acceleration in the pipeline – so Microsoft cannot afford to be complacent.

For businesses, superior web standards support, better browser performance through its improved JavaScript engine and graphics hardware acceleration will mean their web sites benefit from richer media, and will be easier to write and maintain for all browsers.

Findings

Microsoft’s IE9 beta offers better standards support, adds graphics hardware acceleration and nifty usability enhancements. Improved hardware acceleration should make rich media sites execute much faster compared with IE8. But the lack of support for XP means business users will only benefit once they upgrade to Windows 7.

Pros: Hardware acceleration, improved web standards support

Cons: No XP support

Price: Free download

Rating: 4/5