Microsoft already delivered IE10 platform preview

Published: April 12, 2011, 2:22 pm

Microsoft is on a roll!

After making IE9 available for general delivery through Windows Update just in the past week, Microsoft today announced that the first platform preview of IE10 is available for download.

It usually takes up to a year from platform preview until final release, but with Microsoft's fast-paced development, perhaps it will be sooner.

Whatever the final release date, it looks like IE10 will be the version that gets released as the default browser in Windows 8 next year. Windows 8 is targeted for release in 2012, so I'm sure we'll start seeing betas later this year.

As a Web developer, I'm really happy to see Microsoft pushing strong HTML5 standards into IE, and extremely pleased with the great performance of the browser in IE9 and beyond. As more and more people transition to IE9, it will enable me to make this site even better, since more people will have access to better browser capabilities that I can exploit.

Anyone who has upgraded from IE8 to IE9 can already see the differences — better-looking buttons, much faster speed, cleaner graphics (such as drop-shadows), nicer animation effects, etc. Once a majority of people are using browsers capable of these things, it will allow me to spend some more time on features that can use them.

Of course, IE9 (and all future versions of Internet Explorer) can only run on Windows Vista or better. So Windows XP users can only go as far as IE8 without resorting to a browser such as Google Chrome. (Which, by the way, I strongly recommend using instead of IE8 for all Windows XP users!)

The good news is that the most recent Web statistics show that there are now officially more Windows 7 users than Windows XP users.

Finally, Windows XP is on a fast-track decline, and I can look forward to a day without having to support ancient technologies — technologies that not only make my job harder, but greatly diminish my ability to produce cutting-edge features that everyone would want.

Getting back to the IE10 announcement, here is the link to the Internet Explorer team's announcement of the IE10 platform preview. It includes a video showing some of the new features.

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/archive/2011/04/12/native-html5-first-ie10-platform-preview-available-for-download.aspx

Entry #268

Comments

jarasan - Apr 12, 2011, 9:10 pm

I seen that today. Thanks. As far as XP users that is probably at the home. How many Vista users? Ancient technologies, I guess a 2009 Corvette is ancient technology right?

jimmy4164 - May 6, 2011, 12:14 am

Microsoft marketing people are very good at maintaining the perception that operating systems more than 3 years old are Ancient. It keeps people from feeling taken advantage of as they shell out $100-$200 to upgrade. It also helps minimize the number of people who dare to ask WHY their OS can't be improved gradually with the already established KBnnnnnn upgrade procedures, precluding the need for major overhauls. Maybe M$ is just trying to protect us from that terrible fate FreeBSD and Linux users are subjected to periodically as they install their FREE upgrades!

Todd - May 6, 2011, 7:27 am

I don't think so jimmy4164. The main problem with Windows XP is that it was allowed to stay out there for so long without an upgrade -- not that MS created the next version too quick. (Besides the fact that IE9 or IE10 -- the subject of this blog -- are not operating systems -- just web browsers.)

In technology terms, a product 3 years old IS long in the tooth -- maybe not ancient, but definitely in need of something new. Think how quickly Google Chrome gets updated: a new major version every couple months. And that's how people like it.

Technology in the computer era (ever since the 1980s) has always moved at a rapid pace. It has nothing to do with Microsoft per se. It is every technology company, and if a tech company did not constantly move forward, they would be quickly out of business. That's just the way it is, and we all benefit as a result.

jimmy4164 - May 6, 2011, 11:16 am

I can't disagree with much of what you say here. However, my point is that these upgrades could be made gradually through the existing KB process at Microsoft, much like Google upgrades Chrome. Obviously, Microsoft makes more money doing it their way. I just think it's worth knowing that although we do all benefit as a result of these moves forward, some of us benefit quite a bit more than others.

Todd - May 6, 2011, 3:14 pm

Microsoft DOES upgrade Internet Explorer through Windows Update. That's how 99% of user upgrade. So I'm not sure what your complaint is?

I think you're confusing Windows upgrades with upgrades to Internet Explorer. They are completely different things. Internet Explorer upgrades are free, and happen via Windows Update. Similar to Chrome, except Chrome uses its own update program that it silently installs on your PC.

jimmy4164 - May 6, 2011, 5:59 pm

I'm surprised you're not aware I'm referring to OS upgrades.

In the 1st sentence of my first comment above I said,

"Microsoft marketing people are very good at maintaining the perception that operating systems more than 3 years old are Ancient. It keeps people from feeling taken advantage of as they shell out $100-$200 to upgrade."

If you prefer to restrict this Blog topic to IE, that's fine with me. I'll move on.

Todd - May 6, 2011, 6:10 pm

I have no problem discussion the OS upgrades too! It's just that you compared the upgrades to Google Chrome with upgrades to Windows, so I thought you must be mistaken.

A much better comparison would be upgrading Windows to upgrading Mac OSX Or Ubuntu, or some other OS. You'll find the an OS upgrade is always a fairly major deal, and can't be accomplished with simple patches, like you would do when upgrading software applications (like Google Chrome or Internet Explorer).

In my opinion, it is always best -- as a consumer -- to upgrade to the latest version of Windows shortly after it is released. You'll see "pundits" and critics that say "wait until Service Pack 1 is released, or something like that. But the only people that strategy helps is businesses. Consumers are much better situated, and benefit much more, from upgrading right after release.

Besides, Microsoft does such a great job of beta testing that their initial releases are excellent. The two major exceptions I have seen to this are Windows ME and Windows Vista. But they are not the majority of cases, thank goodness.

Microsoft already delivered IE10 platform preview

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