Microsoft released their latest browser late last night and the big question around the business world is “Should I or Shouldn’t I?” I downloaded and installed Internet Explorer 9 this morning and here are a few things right off the bat that I think everyone should know.
Windows Vista or Windows 7 are a must. IE9 is only available on the two most recent versions of Windows. Microsoft is taking another step toward forcing XP to go the way of the floppy disc, if you are still on Windows XP it’s time to upgrade. Windows 7 is everything that Windows Vista should have been and more.
The user Interface is…different. Ok, remember when Office 2007 came out and everyone freaked out over how different everything looked? IE9 isn’t that different, but when you first open it up, you will be sure to notice a few things, all of which can be changed if you really want to.
Combined Web and Search Bar. I always hated the Search Bar in the old Internet Explorer browsers. For those that don’t know what I’m talking about, that’s the Bing or Google box that’s usually up in the top right corner of your browser. I can count on one hand how many times I used that tool and it’s finally gone. If you really want to search straight from IE instead of going to Google or Bing first, then you can still type your search right into the Address Bar. By default IE9 uses Bing as its default search, but this can be changed.
One row for tools. Everything you need is now on one row. Your Back and Forward buttons, your Address Bar, all of your Tabs, Home, Favorites, and Tools, they’re all on one row of icons across the top. IE’s viewable impact on a webpage is positively tiny. Microsoft Corporate Vice President Dean Hachamovitch is quoted as saying, “The browser is the stage and the websites are the stars of the show.”
Man, is it fast! Personally I have eight tabs for my “Home Page”; right away I noticed how all eight pages seem to load instantly when IE is opened.
So…should you or shouldn’t you? Every company is going to be a little different. You have companies that are still running Windows 2000 and Windows XP across the board. In your case…no, no you probably shouldn’t. There are companies that have a crazy little tech guy that the keep in the closet that uses words like Mozilla and Firefox or keeps going on and on about some Opera that he’s seen recently. In your case, if you can catch the little guy and keep him tied down long enough, then sure, give it go. You might even like it. For the rest of us, I would say definitely go for it. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the additions and you’ll be oddly indifferent to the things that are missing.
Download it here and let me know what you think.
Dennis Edmondson Jr
Computing Concepts LLC
