Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Internet Explorer 9 (Beta)

The long awaited IE9 Beta is available for download at Beauty of the Web.  Because IE9 is in the beta phase, the usual precautions apply to not running beta software in a production environment.

The most important note regarding compatibility is that IE9 is not compatible with Windows XP SP3.  A minimum of 512 megabytes (MB) memory is required for all operating systems. Please also note the prerequisites needed for installing the beta in Microsoft KB Article 2399238.

Operating System 
  • Windows Vista 32-bit and 64-bit with Service Pack 2 (SP2) 
  • Windows 7 32-bit and 64-bit 
  • Windows Server 2008 32-bit and 64-bit with Service Pack 2 (SP2)
The first thing I noticed with the installation is the change in the look and feel.  Where was my beloved Favorites bar?


If you find some changes difficult to adjust to -- like the hidden Favorites, Command or Status bar, it is easy to show one or all.  A simple right-click in the space to the right of the New Tab button provides the option to add the old stand-by as well as the option to move the Stop and Refresh buttons.


A major promoted feature of IE9 is improved speed and performance. One way this is accomplished is the "Add-on Performance Advisor.  As would be expected, add-ons slow browser performance.  The Advisor provides the information needed to disable a problematic add-on or fix the problem from the notification area.

Forget the address bar.  It is all about "One Box".  With the One Box, you can pin a website by clicking the icon to the left of the web address and dragging it to the taskbar, the Start menu, or your desktop.  Then launch the site without first having to open Internet Explorer.

Another feature some people may like is when opening a new tab, a selection of favorite sites is displayed.  To go to a site from that selection, just click it.  

Top Keyboard Shortcuts

With the changes in IE9, many people may find it more efficient to accomplish common tasks by using keyboard shortcuts. 

Alt
Show the menu bar. After you make a selection, the menu bar goes away.
Alt+M
Go to your homepage.
Alt+C
View your favorites, feeds, and browsing history.
Ctrl+J
Open Download Manager.
Ctrl+L
Highlight the text in the Address bar.
Ctrl+D
Add a webpage to your favorites.
Ctrl+B
Organize your favorites.

Although I have only had IE9 installed for a couple of hours, I already appreciate the increased webpage viewing area of IE9 over previous versions of Internet Explorer.  I particularly like the combined search and address bar (One Bar).  Another feature of IE9 that Windows 7 users will appreciate is the Windows 7 integration, including Snap, Jump Lists, and more.  

Try IE9, I think you will like it!

References






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