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Microsoft delivers second preview test build of IE 9

Summary: On May 5, Microsoft made available to developers and other interested testers Platform Preview 2 of its Internet Explorer (IE) 9 browser. The updated preview is available from the same Test Drive site as the preview Microsoft released in March.

Mary Jo Foley

By for All About Microsoft |

On May 5, Microsoft made available to developers and other interested testers Platform Preview 2 of its Internet Explorer (IE) 9 browser.

The updated preview is available from the same Test Drive site as the preview Microsoft released in March.

Microsoft committed in March to delivering regular previews of IE 9 on an every-eight-week schedule. The first IE 9 preview went live in mid-March.

The new preview includes new performance tests, like Flickr Explorer, Browser Flip; a few new HTML5 tests, and several new graphics demos, like SVG Tweet Cloud and Real World Diagrams.

According to newly published ACID3 test results, Preview 2 of IE 9 is now at 68 of 100. Preview 1 was 55.

Microsoft officials have not said when to expect an actual beta of IE 9 or when the final release is due.

Microsoft is releasing the new preview the same week as Net Applications reported that IE's overall market share hit an all-time low of 59.95 percent. (And yes, I know Microsoft's market share grew more than that of its browser competitors, but the new numbers are nothing to write home about -- unless you are trying to prove to antitrust officials you don't have a browser monopoly....)

Topics: Browser, Microsoft

About

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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32 comments
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  • Nice. Way to deliver on your promise MS

    Be interesting to see if another comes in July if the rate of progress is still as good as this one shows...
    Johnny Vegas
    Reply Vote

  • I know it's generous...

    since other browsers have been in the 90s for a while, but 68 out of 100 on acid3 in pre-beta is encouraging! That's up from only 20 in IE8.

    Also worth noting, having compared results of Acid3 on my installed browsers (Chrome 4.1 and IE 8) IE8 actually looks significantly closer to the reference image with a score of 20 as compared to Chrome's 98. So perhaps score isn't the whole story.
    ericesque
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Microsoft delivers second preview test build of IE 9

    Microsoft is improving in the areas of javascript, css, svg and so on and that's really great. But they always talk about HTML 5. And if you visit http://www.html5test.com/ with your preview, the result isn't very charming. Probably they working on it, but the current improvements are NOT related to HTML 5 (yet).

    I guess HTML5 is just the next big buzzword, after we got rid of Ajax.
    zeader
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Interesting

      [i]And if you visit http://www.html5test.com/ with your preview, the result isn't very charming.[/i]

      Firefox 3.6.3 shows a score of 101 out of 160<br><br>IE8 shows a score of 19 out of 160<br><br><b>EPIC FAIL!</b> for IE lol... <img border="0" src="http://www.cnet.com/i/mb/emoticons/grin.gif" alt="grin">
      ubiquitous one
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Microsoft delivers second preview test build of IE 9

        @windoze_washer

        Do you really have nothing better to do than show up and make pointless posts screaming how bad IE and Microsoft are?
        Michael Alan Goff
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Microsoft delivers second preview test build of IE 9

        @windoze_washer Of course the score is low. We already knew IE8 wasn't designed to do HTML5. But IE8 also hit RC1 nearly a year and a half ago. Nobody (except standards boards) was worried about HTML5 at that point.

        Go find a copy of Firefox 3.5 for a more accurate comparison.
        ericesque
        Reply Vote

      • Chrome scored really well

        @windoze_washer Chrome 5.0.375.29 scored a 142 out of 160.
        Cakalaky
        Reply Vote

      • @ericesque, FF 3.6 and IE8 are all we have to go on...

        ...at the moment. It's still an embarrassing [b]EPIC FAIL[/b] from a corporation that produces mediocrity when it comes to browsers.

        Stop making excuses.
        ubiquitous one
        Reply Vote

      • A fair competiton

        Get one or shut up.
        Michael Alan Goff
        Reply Vote

      • Why should I shut up

        Because they failed the test and you don't like to hear it?

        Tough.
        ubiquitous one
        Reply Vote

    • RE: RE: Microsoft delivers second preview test build of IE 9

      It's a flawed test, at least in the Video part. The HTML5 spec has nothing about codec support, only that it supports a video tag for playback. The test gives Chrome and extra 5 points where they are really not deserved -- and frankly any point for a particular codec supported (whether it's 5 or 10 points) are not valid.

      The same may be true for audio support, but I'm not as familiar with that.
      Speednet
      Reply Vote

  • I've heard all this hype before...

    ...right before IE8 was released. The changes in that were underwhelming to say the least.
    ubiquitous one
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Microsoft delivers second preview test build of IE 9

      @windoze_washer

      These things are an evolutionary process. You can't expect things to get perfect overnight. Hell, not even Firefox is perfect when it comes to web standards. Opera? Not perfect. Safari? Well, I can't get any webkit browser to really allow WYSIWYG correctly.

      Safari 4 was going to change everything... and I was underwhelmed.

      Firefox 3.5 was going to be THE GREATEST THING EVER. And they then rushed to get 3.6 out the door.

      Opera 10.5 was supposed to be THE WINNER! It's actually the closest to achieving the goal, but meh. It isn't Jesus yet.

      Get it?
      Michael Alan Goff
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Microsoft delivers second preview test build of IE 9

        @goff256

        How can you mention "Evolutionary process" AND "Jesus" in the same breath?
        Pastafarian_FSM
        Reply Vote

      • Is that really all you can think of to say?

        Really?
        Michael Alan Goff
        Reply Vote

      • RE: @goff256, if you really want to end criticism...

        ...of IE, then tell M$ to drop browser development altogether.

        After eight versions of mediocrity & low standards, you'd think they'd get a clue by now.
        ubiquitous one
        Reply Vote

      • Or I could ask you for a valid complaint about this Preview release

        That should shut you up just as easily :)
        Michael Alan Goff
        Reply Vote

      • @goff256

        Their past lies and lackluster performance are valid enough reasons for me.

        And no, I won't shut up.
        ubiquitous one
        Reply Vote

      • I asked for a valid reason to hate IE 9 Platform Preview 2

        You gave me whining about their past business practices. I feel like you aren't even trying to hold up your end of the conversation.
        Michael Alan Goff
        Reply Vote

      • Their past says everything about them

        Do you really think after [b]eight[/b] lackluster versions, they're really gonna change?

        Don't hold your breath...
        ubiquitous one
        Reply Vote
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