Microsoft to share some details on IE 9 at PDC show this week

Microsoft is on tap to share some information about its Internet Explorer (IE) 9 browser at its Professional Developers Conference this week, but isn't yet ready to deliver any bits.

Microsoft will be providing "a bit of conversation about IE" during the keynote at PDC on November 18, but isn't yet ready to deliver even a Community Technology Preview (CTP) of its next-generation browser, a company spokesperson said.

Microsoft officials have declined to say anything but the broadest promises of more standards compliance, better security and better performance as its planned set of deliverables for IE 9.

Even before IE 8 was released, developers and users already had a long list of feature improvements that they are hoping the Microsoft IE team includes in IE 9.

Microsoft released IE 8 to the Web in March 2009. The team has been on a mission to deliver new releases of IE more rapidly, but it's unclear whether the IE team will be able to get a new version out any faster than every two years.

I continue to hear developers and customers hoping that Microsoft will reverse course and deliver a WebKit rendering-engine-based version of IE. Microsoft officials have said no way, no how. I don't think this is something we'll be seeing any time soon... and definitely not in the IE 9 timeframe...

Me? I'd just be happy if my IE tabs hung less with IE 9. What about you? What are you hoping makes it into the next version of IE?