On September 15, Microsoft brought Internet Explorer 9 to the populace by allowing users to download the beta version of the new browser. Those who have lamented IE 8 are intrigued by IE 9 for good reason – there are some pretty handy features there – particularly a more streamlined interface, better performance and full integration into Windows 7.

Improved Interface

IE 9 looks a lot like Google Chrome, which is actually a good thing. Streamlined, simple and easy to use, you’re able to maneuver through IE9 much more easily than you could IE8. The search box and the web address box are actually combined now, so that when you go to start typing, IE 9 offers you suggestions from your favorites, Bing and even offers some thumbnails to give you an idea of where you’re headed before making your selection.

You have control of the features as well, and you can resize the toolbar to your liking and you only need to look in one spot to find all of the available options for the browser. If you’d like to search in other search engines besides Bing, you can add them through options as well.

Improved Performance

IE 9 moves more quickly than IE 8 did – it’s noticeably faster. Graphics are improved because IE 9 is using your GPU to render applications more effectively and there is much more HTLM5 support as well. In the beta version, you can try out the improved performance features in a bit of game play provided by Microsoft in a Test Drive page.

Integration with Windows 7

IE9 is much more integrated with Windows 7. Neat features here include the ability to create application short cuts on your taskbar. Microsoft has partnered with various websites include Facebook and Twitter to create bookmarks that will tack onto your taskbar. Rather than just pulling up the homepage of the sites, however, when you select the new bookmark on your Windows 7 task bar, you can jump to specific places on the site such as your messages or news on Facebook.

IE 9 is still tabbed browsing, which is very nice, but you can now snap the tabs off. Tab tearing lets you simply drag and drop a tab away from the open window without reloading or resetting anything. This quick tab tearing also lets you take advantage of Aero Snap.

When you open a new tab in IE9, you’re offered a list of suggestions from your most popular websites. While not beautiful, it gives you a handy short cut.



Finally, when you download something through IE9, the downloads are managed through a separate window making it easier to monitor the downloads much like Firefox or Chrome.

Downloading Internet Explorer 9 Beta

Overall, Internet Explorer 9 is a considerable improvement over IE 8 – faster, better tools and more streamlined. While there’s nothing brand new out there in the beta addition to blow Firefox or Chrome out of the water, it does make Explorer much more competitive.

To download the Beta version of Explorer 9 on your machine, visit the Microsoft page dedicated to the download. Be aware, however, that you cannot download IE 9 onto a machine running Windows XP. The new browser is available for Vista and Windows 7 only.