All About Microsoft

Mary-Jo Foley

Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer 10 test build for Windows 8

By Mary Jo Foley | September 16, 2011, 1:10pm PDT

Summary: Microsoft released a new developer preview of IE 10 this week for Windows 8 testers only. The new platform preview can work as a plug-in-free “Metro-style” app, or a Desktop app that still supports plug-ins.

Microsoft released this week a new test version of its Internet Explorer (IE) 10 browser that is bundled with Windows 8: Platform Preview 3 (PP3).

Like previously released Platform Preview builds, the IE 10 PP3 is aimed at developers, not end user customers.

PP3 is accessible in Windows 8 in two ways: As a “Metro style” application and a Microsoft Desktop App, i.e., one that is part of the classic/legacy mode of Windows 8. (“Metro style” refers to an app that is designed to take advantage of the new tile user interface and supporting operating-system infrastructure in Windows 8.)

The Metro IE 10 PP3 release does not support any browser plug-ins and extensions — including Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight. But Desktop App IE 10 PP3 does allow plug-ins and extensions.

Windows Chief Steven Sinofsky explained the distinction in a blog post this week. From that post:

“In Windows 8, IE 10 is available as a Metro style app and as a desktop app. The desktop app continues to fully support all plug-ins and extensions. The HTML5 and script engines are identical and you can easily switch between the different frame windows if you’d like.”

The Metro version of IE 10, because it doesn’t support plug-ins and extensions, “improves battery life as well as security, reliability, and privacy for consumers,” according to the blog post.

Microsoft is advising Windows 8 customers who need to access consumer sites and line of business applications that require legacy ActiveX controls to use IE 10 in the Desktop App to get to these sites.

Microsoft did not update this week the IE 10 test build that works on Windows 7 and Windows Vista. That version of IE 10 is still at the PP2 milestone. Microsoft officials said that an a PP3 update for Vista and Windows 7 users would be released “at a future date.” (Note: We don’t know whether or not the next update is going to be PP3 for the standalone version of IE, and Microsoft is not saying.)

The PP3 version IE10 includes support for CSS Text Shadow, CSS 3D Transforms, CSS3 Transitions and Animations, CSS3 Gradient, SVG Filter Effects, HTML5 Forms and more. It also supports better offline application support via local storage with IndexedDB and the HTML5 Application Cache, as well as Web Sockets, HTML5 History, Async scripts, HTML5 File APIs, HTML5 Drag-drop, HTML5 Sandboxing, Web workers, ES5 Strict mode support.

Microsoft also updated its IE Test Drive site, as of this week, to be “touch-friendly,” and added some new multi-touchable demos like Particle Acceleration, Lasso Birds, and Touch Effects.

Update: Adobe issued a statement on September 15 about its plans for Windows 8 on the Metro side of the house. “We expect Flash based apps will come to Metro via Adobe AIR, much the way they are on Android, iOS and BlackBerry Tablet OS today,” according to the company statement.

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Topics

HTML 5, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Windows 8, Platform Preview 3, Desktop App, Web Browsers, Microsoft Windows, Internet, Operating Systems, Software, Mary Jo Foley

Mary Jo has covered the tech industry for more than 25 years for a variety of publications and Web sites, and is a frequent guest on radio, TV and podcasts, speaking about all things Microsoft-related. She is the author of Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft plans to stay relevant in the post-Gates era (John Wiley & Sons, 2008).

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Listen to Jon Honeyball's (PC Pro, UK) audio on W8

rmac_z 16th Sep

and I think, as enthusiastic as he wishes to sound re: W8, is finding it tough towards the end of the review to sound positive in the corporate sense. I believe W8 (AND IT WOULD NOT TAKE MUCH MORE EFFORT IN THE GRAPHIC SENSE) needs to be more creative like Surface in its look and feel. Why have all the bits and pieces all got to be boring rectangles? Couldn't one 'zoom in' on Metro styled PIECES in traditional desktop apps (a bit like being able to embed a WPF control in a WinForms app). My heart really sank when I saw all those beautiful Windows controls (like the ones in W7), also in W8 desktop AND ASP.NET since version way back, but then Joe Stegman's demo of the new XAML (like WP7) controls - plain white border round black with white text which are like my first graphics efforts 17 years ago. Come on MS, for goodness sake get some real design going here. Take a look at your homepage video on the Surface site and deliver.

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And did I say I was...

rmac_z 16th Sep

@rmac_z

...off topic (sorry).

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

whatagenda 16th Sep

@rmac_z

Isn't it a tiny bit premature to be whining about graphics elements found in a developers preview build? Now if those elements are in the later beta builds, you'd have firmer ground on which to stand.

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

rmac_z 18th Sep

@whatagenda

The look of the xaml controls Joe Stegman used has been around since October/November 2010 when WP7 came out so this is not entirely a new issue. Putting looks to one side, Metro is currently 'sandboxed' away from desktop apps and there is no disecernable direction from MS re: corporate desktop development. If one is trying to move a WinForms app forward, one would be really stuck making a decision. The number one developer request for WPF was to converge with Silverlight. That hasn't happened (yet) although at least databinding and whitespace have been resolved which is definitely for the better. One would therefore struggle to decide whether to: stick with WinForms for now and wait for a converged Silverlight/WPF i.e. a more extensive xaml paradigm than was presented at Build; develop in Silverlight because it's closest to the new xaml and works under the W8 desktop, only the biggest problem with that is it's not cut out for local database development; move to WPF in the hope it's going to be compatible with any new 'Metro-fied' xaml i.e. that both could be mixed in the same application because WPF xaml and SL xaml are not the same beast and two conversions to reach this would be painful.

Hopefully MS have this to hand and haven't told us and we can look forward to some xaml magic, but just like Silverlight was, it's another communication failure with devs.

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

scH4MMER 19th Sep

@rmac_z -- the new religion says content is king, not the OS. The plain Metro canvas stays out of the way so that apps get all the attention. Also, imagine the live tiles we'll start to see once rock-star app writers are competing against each other for Start Screen space! Should be a lot more interesting that what this early demo version has to show right now.

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

Attila Bogozi Updated - 16th Sep

IE10 is a tool for downloading Google Chome! happy

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

warriet@... 16th Sep

@Attila Bogozi agreed!

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Google Chrome

Joe_Raby 16th Sep

....is a way for Google to download you.

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

warriet@... 16th Sep

tried IE10, Chrome still better for desktop

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

Rama.NET 16th Sep

@warriet@...
developer preview vs. beta product. I don't see validity there.

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

owlnet 16th Sep

@warriet@...
Sorry Sir, Please Grow up !!!

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

SylvainT 17th Sep

@warriet@...

Can you explain why. I came to different conclusion.
1 - IE10 give javascript access to windows 8 dll.
2 - IE10 gives javascript access to background multithread.
3 - IE10 have a much better security system (as exemple IE10 is totally integrated with active directory, chrome just offer some very basics functionalities, not enough for business use)
4 - IE10 use video card graphic system to draw fonts (use directX rendring for that )
5 - IE10 still in alpha, and it rock, cant wait to see it when finished.
6 - Finally Chrome spy on you, collecting private information about you for is own use ( the product google sell is you), IE10 doenst.

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

theo_durcan 17th Sep

@SylvainT
boy if you think IE don't collect info about you I have a bridge to sell you. The difference is MS is a dinosaur wannabe advertising/search company, keep users locked with every dirty trick in the book, and deliver consistently subpar, mediocre products; Goggle, in the other hand is an ethical company delivering real value to users, innovating and redefining internet in a way that MS can only dream.

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

KSLGW95 19th Sep

@warriet@...

IE 10 (running in a VBox) beat my Chrome 16 canary build (running in Windows 7 - Same computer) in almost all speed tests (besides the Google made ones) and it does a better job with approved HTML 5 elements.

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

AdnanPirota 16th Sep

definitely the best browser I used till now, very fast and outstanding graphics but till now was not able to get flash player to work...

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

audidiablo 16th Sep

@AdnanPirota

You will need to download and install Flash Player 11 in order to get it to work. Also if you're running x64 you will need to download and install Flash Player 11 x64

http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/flashplayer11.html

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Where's Explorer 10 test build for XP?

ScorpioBlue 16th Sep

C'mon fellas, we still have 3 more years!

grin

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

zadocpaet 16th Sep

Windows 8 could be the jump I'm looking for. I'd really like to see a tablet based off of it that can replace both my laptop and PC. I really want a "full computer" as a tablet. Not just a tablet.

POLL: Will Windows 8 big the biggest change to happen to desktop computers in the past decade?
Vote: http://www.wepolls.com/p/2647470

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

rgor@... 16th Sep

The browser is just a way to deliver web content and it is free. You could use 2 browsers if you like. It wouldn't cost a penny and one would not have to take an "us vs them" mentality and we would end a lot of the flame and fanboy wars. Now if they start charging for a browser then you have a financial incentive to make sure that you investment is not wasted.

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

p0keman 16th Sep

The question I think should be can Microsoft get anyone to come back to IE!!

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

FuzzyBunnySlippers 16th Sep

I think I'm sticking to this site for a long time. Great articles, some poking of fun (no harm done) between favorite tech fans in the comment section, and I've actually learned some things. Great job Mrs Foley. Your articles keep even the most unruly commenters at bay by providing such an insider's view.

To stay on topic, now, .. there are some aspects of IE 10 on my HP 2760p that just 'wowed' me from the start. It'll take some getting used to a sort of 'bipolar' aspect that seems to be based on where/when it is launched. I did somehow get to a few tech feeds that showed up as almost a 'reader' format, and I gasped. Cool stuff. But, minutes later, I could not reproduce the same experience. I'm sure it was me, and how I approached it at different levels. But, that did throw me off guard. I think I launched once as a tile, and the next time in the legacy Win7-ish area. Am I alone in this experience?

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

Duke E Love 17th Sep

@FuzzyBunnySlippers

You *do* know that IE is a sh!tty browser right? Unless you are a dyed in the wool MS developer IE is a freaking nightmare. Countless CSS and JS, DOM bugs, p!ss poor JS engine performance (even IE 9 is slow for demanding modern web apps). It really is a crappy browser. IE has added an average of 50% to 200% to the development time to the JS/AJAX heavy apps I have written in the last three years. FF is a pain too but IE takes the cake. It is the MS Bob of Browsers

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

theo_durcan 17th Sep

@Duke E Love
well said. IE is a freaking nightmare, nothing to add.

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???

KSLGW95 Updated - 19th Sep

@Duke E Love
JS rendering is faster than any of the other browsers (IE-32) bit, and IE 10 passes all the Acid Tests. Web design in IE9 and 10 is just as easy as it is in Chrome or Firefox in DreamWeaver...

I can't speak for you, but that is just my experience.

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

acompanha 17th Sep

I'm using and I'm honestly surprised! I hope to work on this line here, because I was using (and still use) Chrome, congratulations on the job!
Ar Condicionado
Massagista
Acompanhantes

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

JustCallMeBC Updated - 17th Sep

If Microsoft really believed in IE as a solid, competitive product and wanted it to be relevant outside of the clueless corporate realm and the low-tech, just-good-enough crowd, they would unbundle it from the OS and make it multiplatform like Safari, Firefox, Chrome and Opera. Until they do that, it's basically only going to serve mostly as an initial downloader for someone else's browser.

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

bitcrazed 17th Sep

@JustCallMeBC. Riiiiiiiiight. Because IE would get SO MUCH adoption in the 1% of the market that uses Linux and 8% of the market that uses OSX, right?

Right.

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Totally Agree

KSLGW95 19th Sep

@bitcrazed
+1

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So Windows 8 is a chimera ...

johnfenjackson@... Updated - 17th Sep

... you either forego some of the key (browser) functionality you had in the PC era ... or you regress to the PC era and/or a retrograde Adobe application.

Begins to sound like a combination of Vista and netbooks: lacking compatibility AND computing power.

I'm still waiting for the problems to be solved or the ecosystem to catch up.

M$ begins to sound more like Apple every day - choice? - that's for us platform-holders to make not you customers to enjoy

Although Windows 8 adopters will be able to relish a 30% increase in software prices from the new marketplace ...

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Why are you so fearful of Microsoft products, sir?

Mister Spock 17th Sep

@johnfenjackson@...
On every article written about Microsoft, we can always count on a negative assesment from you, some actually bordering on what many here label as "FUD".

What is it about Microsoft's products that force many like you to feel the need to do little more then belittle it?

It is a piece of software from a company you have no stake in. It is illogical. plain

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

daikon 17th Sep

@Mister Spock

Yet you belittle anything that is not Microsoft, not logical for the real Mr. Spock

The Captain is not happy.

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

waasoo 18th Sep

@daikon
Pot... kettle... black?? Very few who comment here regularly are unbiased! daikon, Linux Geek, DTS Linux Advocate love Linux (or hate MS?)..... facebook, bitcrazed, owlnet and Rama .NET are MS defenders (cheerleaders?).....I usually read thru all comments... there is always something to learn from the discussions, however fanatical the commenter's belief!

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...

KSLGW95 19th Sep

@johnfenjackson@...

I agree with your last statement but there is one issue...

Your math is off, if a dev wants to make one dollar, with microsoft taking a 30 % cut, he would have to have a 43% price increase to still make one dollar...

All this shows is Microsoft should take a much smaller cut in order to attract more developers for Metro apps.

Chanting: "Developers, Developers, Developers" doesn't work anymore.

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

Just J 17th Sep

"Microsoft did not update this week the IE 10 test build that works on Windows 7 and Windows Vista. That version of IE 10 is still at the PP2 milestone. Microsoft officials said that a PP3 update for Vista and Windows 7 users would be released ???at a future date.???"

So, does this mean that IE10 *will* be available for Vista after all? After the semi-recent announcement that IE10 would be Win7 and above compatible only...

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

Lerianis10 17th Sep

The biggest question I have is, can you install BOTH versions on one computer?
Personally, I can see situations where the 'Metro' version would be good and situations where the Desktop version (with support for plugins) would be better.

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

xplorer1959 19th Sep

@Lerianis10 Not sure what you mean by "BOTH versions". I've been trying out Windows 8 and the 'Explorer' tile in metro opens the browser to a view similar to ie9 (but actually faster than the current fastest browser- ie9). Perhaps I missed something? Admittedly, some of the apps currently available definitely need refining, but this is a developer release that already works better than a developer preview normally does. I'll continue to try out each release and when the final version is ready my next computer will run Windows 8.

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

SylvainT Updated - 17th Sep

@JustCallMeBC
Obviously you are not a developper, and dont really understand why Explorer is part of the OS.

-To be part of the Os gives Explorer access to the inner parts of windows operating systems (using activeX,Silverlight/WPF and javscript with windows 8).

-Explorer must be 100% compatible with active directory (business requirement), that one would be hard witout a direct access to the OS.

-It help explorer to have access to the computer hardware, like the graphic card, giving you a better rendering.

-Explorer has to integrate itself with the other OS application (like Office as exemple), to be part of the OS make this much more easy.

Finally Exploreur have to work well on a private LAN (business requirement) as he does on a pulblic LAN (like internet)

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

jack@... 18th Sep

I would like to default to IE10 Metro app... but it need to support plug-ins... HTML5 hasn't dominated the market just yet and it's very inconvenient for users having to dis-integrate the Metro interface to the basic IE when using a tablet. This is lame.

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

ipadsucks 19th Sep

@jack@... hahaha dont be jealous apple troll just because IE 10 is moving forward with html 5 has it will dominate the market while Chrome & Safari are left behind. IE will work great with tablets

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RE: Microsoft delivers new Internet Explorer test build for Windows 8

ipadsucks 19th Sep

IE 10 is best web browser. Google chrome sucks! also sucks more is Safari.

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Hopefully 10 will be at least 1 better then 9 which is horrific

BlueCollarCritic 4th Oct

IE 9 is a dog as far as perfromance and reliability. I've had more crashes/issues/prblems with IE9 then any other version. Most sites you have to use the compatability setting (F12) to switch to a pror more stable version of IE. If 10 isn't an improvement it could be the LAST version fo IE people agree to use without being forced to use.

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