“Things are about to change,” Microsoft corporate vice president Dean Hachamovitch said at a press conference at the South By Southwest Interactive technology festival in Texas. “We took a dramatically different tack.”<\/p>\n
Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) will be available for download in 30 languages at beautyoftheweb.com.<\/p>\n
“It’s a really good day for the Web,” Hachamovitch said.<\/p>\n
IE9 is built to make the most of Microsoft’s latest operating system, Windows 7, as well as graphics processing chips that can power videos, games, graphics and other stunning visuals.<\/p>\n
The long list of partners that have adapted websites to IE9 includes Facebook, Twitter, Pandora, Hulu, and Yahoo!, according to Microsoft.<\/p>\n
“We have worked with partners reaching a billion active Internet users,” Hachamovitch said. “All of these partners are using IE9 to make a more beautiful Web, starting today.”<\/p>\n
More than 40 million copies of IE9 have already been downloaded as part of the process leading up to its official release, according to Microsoft.<\/p>\n
Microsoft showed off a lean, muscular new Internet Explorer crafted to spotlight slick websites and beat back competition from Firefox and Google in the Web browser arena.<\/p>\n
Microsoft director of web services strategy Ari Bixhorn booted up an Apple MacBook Pro laptop running the latest version of Firefox for a side-by-side comparison at a radio station website with rich interactive graphics.<\/p>\n
A laptop powered by Windows and using IE9 smoothly zipped through cascading images illustrating top tunes while the opposition slowly worked its way along.<\/p>\n
“The Web as we know it is taking a huge step forward today,” Bixhorn said.<\/p>\n
While Microsoft doesn’t charge separately, the browser is included with Windows software and it is in the technology giant’s interest to keep users happy and devoted to its products.<\/p>\n
“A browser is important to Microsoft because browsing is the top activity people do on their PCs (personal computers),” Hachamovitch said. “We want browsing the Web to be a great experience so people keep choosing Windows to do it.”<\/p>\n
Windows operating systems are at a core of Microsoft’s software empire. The Redmond, Washington-based technology colossus claims more than one billion Windows customers.<\/p>\n
Microsoft seems to have hit the mark with IE9, according to analysts.<\/p>\n
“The browser is the stage and the websites are the stars of the show,” Hachamovitch told AFP during an earlier demonstration.<\/p>\n
Once a website is reached, the browser seems to step out of the way and almost vanish to spotlight the content.<\/p>\n
IE9 promised to be another hit release for Microsoft, which has seen market successes with Windows 7 operating system and a Kinect motion-sensing controller accessory for Xbox 360 video game consoles.<\/p>\n
Open-source browser Firefox had been gnawing away at IE’s dominance, but that eased as a new rival arrived in the form of Chrome by Internet titan Google.<\/p>\n