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Computer Support For Individuals And Small Business |
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3/20/11 |
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Internet Explorer 9 Released |
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After months of testing, Microsoft has released Internet Explorer 9. It is sleeker than its predecessor and has a few new cool features.
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The interface has been streamlined. Expect a slight learning curve to get used to it. One hint - if you are wondering where the usual menu items (File, Edit, etc.) are, press the "Alt" key and they will appear. To make them available when you open the browser, go to View and Toolbars and check the "Menu bar."
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Initially the tabs are on the same line as the address box. If you would like to see them in a separate row, which is preferable if you have quite a few tabs open, right-click on a tab and check the "Show tabs on a separate row" option.
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Another new tool is the Pinned Sites functionality. By clicking on a tab and holding down the left mouse button you can drag the tab to the Windows Task Bar.
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There are a number of "under the hood" technical improvements including improved security/privacy tools, support for HTML5, and a faster JavaScript engine. Benchmarking tests indicate it is faster than IE 8 and catching up to other browsers.
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Even though an estimated 50%+ of all personal computers are running Windows XP (thus making it the biggest competitor to Windows Vista, Windows 7, and every other operating system combined), IE 9 is not available for the beloved XP.
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If you are using 32-bit Windows Vista or Windows 7, install the 32-bit version of IE 9.
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If you are using 64-bit Windows Vista or 7, install the 64-bit version (the system will not allow you to install the 32-bit version). The 64-bit version includes the 32-bit version, which is what you should use for now. Why? Because, not all of the add-ons will work correctly with the 64-bit version. Eventually you will be able to switch to the 64-bit version with no problem. Maybe this is one reason it is not yet included in Windows Update.
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But should you install it? If you use Internet Explorer as your default browser you need to be cautious, as some websites do not yet work correctly with IE 9. If you decide to update now, we suggest you have an alternate browser installed and available such as Firefox or Chrome.
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If you use a different browser as your default, and you use Internet Explorer only as required by Microsoft-related operations, you might as well install IE 9. It is an improvement over IE 8.
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Internet Explorer 9 can be downloaded and installed manually. Be sure you pick the correct version.
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