Microsoft’s Preview of Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) HTML5, CSS3

A developer preview of Internet Explorer 9 has been released today by Microsoft. The leading browser from Microsoft was first revealed for development last year and this was the initial chance to take a look at it.

It does appear though that this preview is simply an assertion from Microsoft that IE9 will definitely be coming, as it does not even feature an address bar and has little in the way of user interface. However there’s enough on show to display that this is a radical overhaul of Internet Explorer.

IE9 will support HTML5, the updated mark-up language that enables more vibrant web pages, geolocation and video embedding. This will absolutely bring the functionality of IE9 up to that of Firefox, Safari etc. However although Microsoft have concentrated on achieving web standards, their Acid3 test which gauges the performance of a web browser, still only scored 55/100, whereas Firefox 3.7 for instance scores 97/100.

There is also better conformity to CSS with Microsoft seemingly focused on being compatible with CSS3 which is presently being developed. One of the drawbacks on bringing IE9 up-to-date is a biggie though, as it will NOT support Windows XP, although of course this will urge people to get the more recent Windows 7 upgrade.

All in all then it looks like a good start for Microsoft and shows its intent to regain their share of the browser market. For more on this story go to mashable.com. From what you’ve heard so far what do you think of Internet Explorer 9 and are you thinking you may use it when it becomes available?

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter