With the news feeds filled with the announcement of the Internet Explorer 9 beta being released publicly I figured it was also time I gave my two cents on this.
With Microsoft producing without a doubt, their best operating system, Windows 7 and providing the ability to disable the internet explorer (8), it does make wonder. Also, what's the point when Google Chrome is doing so well, and has proven to be the current speedster of all browsers. Not to mention the integration of other Google products like Docs and Email now that plug-in support through extensions is now available. Yes sure, I will install the new browser but certainly not the beta and only to be able to know what's what when it comes to what will certainly be malware issues due to this new browser. Why? Because no matter what the current status of which browser is best, the Internet Explorer 9 will start to ship with all new windows computers and that means it will always have the upper hand over the alternatives, even with the browser option window upon initial start up of your new system and that is only because the less knowledgable person will see the familiar IE icon and choose this. I can only hope Microsoft has learned from its mistakes in the past, but that being said, it shouldn't mean the end user isn't given the choice. My continued problem with the Internet Explorer with the current status within Windows 7 when you do have it disabled, is many programs have been written to launch the Internet Explorer for such things like registering the product once you have it installed, instead of writing the code to launch the 'default browser'. I first came across this problem when a client was installing Simply Accounting and upon the last step of the setup, the program would crash with an error code that was unknown, even from Simply support. By re-enabling the Internet Explorer, the program would install successfully and sure enough, the Internet Explorer would launch and direct the end user to the registration and activation page. If the Internet Explorer, version 9 is going to be a winner, it is going to have to be completely self functioning like other third party browsers and since the creator is Microsoft, you can be sure this will never be the case. I have, for years, promoted the Avant Browser which is ultimately unheard of in the browser community but the simple truth be told, this browser emulates the Internet Explorer to a Tee and for this reason alone, it is a great alternative browser, especially if you currently use Chrome or Firefox as your main browser.
I guess if you wish to give the new IE 9 a try, my suggestion would be to stay away, far far away, from giving the beta a try and leave that for the "experts".. those that know just how to completely remove all knowledge that this beta ever existed on your machine, especially when the final public release comes out. Over the years of dealing with most Microsoft product betas, I am well aware of their track record in this department and know of many third party companies that have done very well for themselves as a direct result of providing 'registry cleaning/removal' products for this exact issue.
So, if you are one that is thinking of giving the new Internet Explorer 9 beta a try, do yourself a favour and download Google Chrome instead and head on over to the Chrome Extensions and Themes if you want to have some fun. At least you won't be sorry you did!
