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Internet Explorer 9 RC - Will you give it a chance?

Summary: Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 Release Candidate is out. Will you be taking it for a test drive?

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

By for Hardware 2.0 |

Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 Release Candidate is out. Will you be taking it for a test drive?

For existing IE users, there's a lot to like in IE9. The browser is faster, less RAM and CPU hungry, more stable, more secure, and easier to use than previous incarnations.

IE9 RC also features Tracking Protection Lists that you can use to block advertisers that are tracking you. There are several third-party custom lists currently available (AdBlock Plus, TRUSTe, PrivacyChoice and Abine).

Note: IE9 RC is now feature-complete and only small changes and bug fixes are expected between now and final release.

For more information on IE9 RC, check out the official post on the Windows Team Blog or for a more detailed look at some of the features check out this post on the IEBlog.

But is all this enough to tempt those who have moved on from IE to take another look at the browser?

What about you?

[poll id="596"]

[poll id="597"]

Topics: Browser, Microsoft

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33 comments
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  • RE: Internet Explorer 9 RC - Will you give it a chance?

    I'll be taking it for a spin, and when it's released I'll likely install it on the computers of my parents, but I myself am sticking with my Firefox addons.
    CobraA1
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Internet Explorer 9 RC - Will you give it a chance?

      @CobraA1 I'll be taking it. I dont like too much Firefox anymore (it crashes a lot in my pc - dunno why).
      Nevellin
      Reply Vote

  • I've Been Using it for a While

    Through the BETAs - somewhat buggy, crashes alot. New features are nice. Not as speedy as I would like. Just installed the RC, hope they fixed some of the issues. If not, adios IE. Now-a-days, your browser can't just be OK, it has to shine - too much competition.
    jpr75_z
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Internet Explorer 9 RC - Will you give it a chance?

      @jpr75_z
      It's definitely a lot more stable than beta. The beta have tendency to hang. The RC fixed all that for me.
      illegaloperation
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Internet Explorer 9 RC - Will you give it a chance?

      @jpr75_z <br> I am installing the RC today. IE9 Beta has been a much more pleasant experience in many instances with few stability problems for me.
      ryanstrassburg
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Internet Explorer 9 RC - Will you give it a chance?

    Installed the Beta and RC right alongside Opera, Chrome, FF and Rockmelt.<br><br>Since then I have found myself using ie9 more and more.<br>I am really liking it.<br><br><img border="0" src="http://www.cnet.com/i/mb/emoticons/happy.gif" alt="happy">
    rhonin
    Reply Vote

  • Still a lack-luster browser...

    IE9 is better, but it's like comparing a Honda to a Bugatti when you look at what other browsers can do. Chrome and Safari, already offer significantly better support for css3 and HTML5; features that matter.

    As a developer, IE is always the limiting factor. You either incur the cost to work around it's deficiencies or you simply leave off features. IE9 is much more manageable, but it's still very far from being a high performer.
    silence dogood
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Internet Explorer 9 RC - Will you give it a chance?

      @silence dogood
      IE9 has better CSS 2.1 compliance than all other browsers, especially Webkit, measuring using the official W3C test suite... heck even IE8 has a higher percentage rate than all other browsers. Funny how people seem to miss this when drooling over CSS3 and HTML5.

      Plus, how are those CSS3 test suites coming along? Most CSS3 modules don't even have any test suite: http://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/Test/. Kind of hard to measure "better support" without it. The other browsers may have some form of support for a larger number of CSS3 features, but that says nothing about their quality, nor of how the specs may change (and thus break sites) as the specs evolve.
      PB_z
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Internet Explorer 9 RC - Will you give it a chance?

        CSS2.1 is great. But come on, really, you can't honestly say that you cared more about IE8's marginally better coverage of css2.1 when you had FF already getting 100% coverage of CSS3 selectors 6 months before IE8 even came out. Tell me how much of the CSS3 selectors does IE8 cover today?

        The argument that it's better to have perfect CSS2.1 and horrid CSS3, than near perfect CSS2.1 and very good CSS3, seems a little disingenuous to me. As does saying there isn't a good test suite yet. I can code my own sites, and it's pretty black and white when Chrome, Safari, and FF, render/work as I intended. Especially when the support is completely absent in IE9. You also know as well as I do that the spec. for most if not all the supported elements we're talking about in webkit/gecko, isn't likely to change, you're splitting hairs.

        I don't hate IE. But I'm also not going to say it can do what other offerings can, when I can test it myself and see that it clearly doesn't.

        But don't take my word for it:
        http://www.findmebyip.com/litmus

        ...enough said.
        silence dogood
        Reply Vote

    • RE: Internet Explorer 9 RC - Will you give it a chance?

      @silence dogood
      I can bet that you haven't even use IE9 RC.
      illegaloperation
      Reply Vote

    • What??? Based on bogus test suites? Just because

      chrome and safari do it the same doesnt make it right. And perf wise ie9 blows both of them completely out of the water
      Johnny Vegas
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Internet Explorer 9 RC - Will you give it a chance?

    No need, there are so many other good browsers now the "dig" for something better just isn't all that appealing. I'll continue using Firefox, Chrome and on occasion Opera, until they no longer meet my needs.
    Playdrv4me
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Internet Explorer 9 RC - Will you give it a chance?

      @Playdrv4me
      Awesome. Deny yourself something better than what you have now.
      illegaloperation
      Reply Vote

  • Tablet

    I have a thinkpad x200 tablet and though I use Chrome on my other PCs the lack of support for touch scrolling in Chrome (I have to drag the side scroll bar instead of swiping down the page) and issues with eSchoolPlus (garbage app foisted on me by my district) has me cheating with IE9.
    YieldMFC83
    Reply Vote

  • Ditched IE....

    ....years ago. Trouble free surfing ever since.
    james347
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Internet Explorer 9 RC - Will you give it a chance?

      @james347
      Aside from daily crash caused be Firefox, you mean.
      illegaloperation
      Reply Vote

      • Shhh

        @day2die
        Whatever you do, don't mention the war.
        (quote from faulty Towers in case you wonder)
        honeymonster
        Reply Vote

  • RE: Internet Explorer 9 RC - Will you give it a chance?

    A chance? Most people are already making reservations for IE9 RC.
    Loverock Davidson
    Reply Vote

  • I'm changing Firefox to be a barely-ran

    and IE to be my main.
    Michael Alan Goff
    Reply Vote

    • Well that's not surprising

      Anything else new?

      lol...
      LTV10
      Reply Vote
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