IE9 will tell just how agile Microsoft really is

Whenever the conversation turns to browsers lately, the question comes up: Can Microsoft be agile enough? Sure, what they’re showing off in the IE9 platform previews now is interesting, but it’s unfinished. Microsoft is planning to release an IE9 beta on September 15, but how long will it take for that beta to turn into a final product? And how quickly before the competition leapfrogs it?

Those doubts are understandable. Over the years, Microsoft hasn’t exactly developed a reputation for swift, sure software development. But how does their performance compare with rival software developers? I went back and looked at the record, counting the number of days between major releases for IE, Firefox, Google Chrome, and Safari. Here’s what the results look like, in chart form (click to see the full version in its own window):

I had to make a couple assumptions for this chart. I assumed that the final release of Internet Explorer would be on March 30, 2011, roughly six months after the beta and around the time of Microsoft’s MIX conference. I think that’s a reasonable period of time for the full beta cycle to complete. (By way of comparison, Microsoft went from beta to RTM of Windows 7 in less time than that.) Performance on the IE9 development effort has been very steady, with new releases every 6-8 weeks. So it can certainly be done. I also gave Mozilla credit for its Beta 2 release of Firefox 4 in July. Even with that largesse, they’ve still taken an unusually long time between major releases.

It’s hard to fully gauge what Microsoft is capable of doing based on past performance. Every single version of Internet Explorer up till now has been tied to a new release of Windows, which explains the enormous gap between IE6 (Windows XP, 2001) and IE7 (Vista, 2006). Clearly, Microsoft realizes that three years might be a reasonable gap between Windows releases, but it’s far too big a gap between browser updates. So what is the right number? In his keynote address at MIX06, Bill Gates was fairly blunt:

The browser we need to be unbelievably agile with. I don’t know if [the proper release cycle is] nine months or 12 months or what it is, but it’s much more like that than what we’ve done for these last three years.

Based on recent performance, Microsoft is a long ways from being able to deliver a new browser every year. Ironically, Apple is there already, releasing Safari 5 364 days after Safari 4. And Google is working at twice that speed, releasing Chrome 5 almost exactly six months after its predecessor. That’s understandable, given Chrome’s minimal user interface.

Picking the right release cycle is a tremendous balancing act for Microsoft, one in which they have to accommodate the demands of conservative corporate customers (who want to avoid upgrades except when absolutely required) and big-spending, trend-setting early adopters, who crave change.

The big question is whether IE9 represents a true break from the past for Microsoft. From a standards point of view, that’s certainly true, and its development effort also suggests a tempo that it hasn’t come close to in the past. Maybe after IE9 is complete, Microsoft will finally be able to pick up the pace, with the engine evolving along with the W3C’s HTML5 specifications. If that’s the case, an annual browser update could be the norm, with Internet Explorer 10 ready in early 2012, in time to be included with Windows 8.

IE9 fails to excite me

Despite the preview platform releases, and a beta that’s supposed to land on September 15th, I just can’t seem to muster up any excitement over Microsoft’s upcoming Internet Explorer 9.

Sure, I’ve downloaded the previews, and had a look at the demos that Microsoft has showcased, but even this leaves me feeling a little cold. Compare this to IE4, released back during the heady days of Dynamic HTML, when Internet Explorer seemed fresh and exciting and the browser that everyone (in my opinion) should have been running.

So what’s changed?

Well, several things. First, while IE4 was a developer and user’s paradise, Microsoft dropped the ball when it came to IE5, dropped the ball again with IE6, left IE6 festering about for way too long, and then dropped the ball again with IE8. Then came better browsers, such as Firefox, Opera and Chrome. Heck, even Safari makes IE seem like a mess in terms of plain old usability, and I say this as someone who dislikes Safari which a passion.

With IE9, Microsoft seems to be going back to the good old days of IE4 and putting a lot of emphasis on cool stuff that developers can do, and mixing this in with lashings of high-performance. But the more I play with the platform preview and the associated demos, the more disheartened I become, and the more convinced I am that Microsoft is still floundering. Sure, the ‘Softies have gone back to the formula of appealing to developers, something which that helped it beat Netscape and ward off the competition for years. But the problem with that tactic is that it’s old and belongs in a different era. The web now has expanded way beyond the desktop/notebook ecosystem and onto countless devices large and small. While those cool demos that Microsoft has put together for the preview platform seem to work well in IE9, they’re awful when viewed on other browsers, and simply don’t work on mobile devices. If the purpose of these demos is to encourage developers to leverage the power of IE9, that will mean frustration for those not using IE.

What Microsoft is doing is trying to rekindle the browser wars of days gone by, recruit developers as cannon fodder, and create a situation where end users are caught in the middle, facing a web that only works well on a certain kind of platform - Microsoft’s platform. Sure, other browsers will grow and adapt, but it will take time, and will likely be painful …

… if developers take an interest in leveraging this new power, that is.

The problem facing IE9 is getting people excited about another new browser. Fast browsers offering great performance are now commonplace, as is the compact, simple user interface and intuitive favorites/history/downloads mechanisms. Unless IE9 offers more to the end user than greater performance and a re-jigged user interface, then it will end up relying once again on being the default Windows browser, and having to watch its market share erode away.

Internet Explorer - 15 years old

The software giant launched the first version of the browser internet explorer 1 on August 16, 1995. It was a revised version of Spyglass Mosaic, which Microsoft had licensed from Spyglass Inc. The first version came with Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95 and the original equipment manufacturer release of Windows 95.

Here’s a timeline for the different versions of Internet Explorer:

* IE2: November 22, 1995
* IE3: August 13, 1996
* IE4: September 1997
* IE5: March 18, 1999
* IE6: August 27, 2001
* IE7: October 18, 2006
* IE8: March 19, 2009

It was IE3 that really propelled the browser into popularity, and usage share continued to grow to a peak in 2004, from which point it has been in devline ever since.

Internet Explorer through the years

Internet Explorer has evolved quite a bit over its 15 year history.

In a story, timeline and photo gallery CNET talks a look back at where IE has been and where it is headed as the company prepares to release a beta of IE9 next month.

Is this Microsoft's new Internet Explorer 9 interface?

Microsoft has delivered four developer previews of Internet Explorer (IE) 9 so far, but has yet to show off the new interface for its next-generation browser. That is expected to happen on September 15, during Microsoft’s beta launch event in San Francisco.

But maybe users won’t have to wait until then to get a glimpse of what’s coming. Microsoft Russia’s press site, on August 25, posted information and a photo that seem to be connected to the coming IE 9 beta. (The site has since pulled their post, but I grabbed the information and screen shot in the nick of time.)

The screen shot (above) shows a navigation bar and fewer controls. There’s a back button, a combined URL - search box at the top. And that’s pretty much it. I don’t see menu items like “Favorites” or “Suggested Sites” or “Get More Add-Ons” (but maybe they’re still in there, somehow).

I ran the text of the Russian site’s IE 9 posting through the Bing Translator. Other than turning a couple of the references from IE 9 to IE 8 (and IE 7, in one case), Bing did a good job.

The Microsoft Russia site said there will be a new, simplified navigation bar with IE 9 that will leave “more room for the (Web) site itself.” There will be some navigation tools for commonly used functions — things like a back button and a combined address/search bar. But the numerous menu items in older versions of IE have “been consolidated into one,” the site said. “Now the user sees only what you need to navigate.”

The Russian Microsoft site said that there will be provisions for “recognized,” or “protected,” sites which will allow users to go straight from the Windows taskbar to these sites without having to open IE first. In other words, recognized, protected sites will be treated more like traditional Windows applications.

Bing translated the instructions for doing this as “(C)lick the pins in the address bar or click the site in a new tab and drag it to the taskbar. That’s all. If the site is pinned, it displays an icon that is separate from the Internet Explorer. Now from the website you are just one click.”

(It sounds like this might be a feature accessible by Windows 7 users only, though I am not sure.)

The Russian site also mentioned “tear-off tabs” — a capability that will build on Windows’s Aero Snap feature. Snap allows users to more easily look at two pages, side-by-side by “snapping” them to the sides of their PC screen. Firefox and Safari both already include tear-off tabs, allowing users to select tabbed items and turn them into separate windows.

Here’s the description of the tear-off tabs from the Russian site, as translated by Bing:

“Often a task must open several Web pages or screens. Advanced tabs in combination with Windows Aero Snap is a quick way to display two or two-page spread. To do this, simply drag the page in different screen and will appear next to each other. Reproduction of content sites and video are not violated.”

I’ve asked Microsoft for comment on the information posted and removed from the Microsoft Russia site. I will add any comments I get to this post. Update: Not very useful, but here’s the official statement, from a Microsoft spokesperson: “Microsoft is encouraged by the early enthusiasm around Internet Explorer 9; we have nothing further to share about Internet Explorer 9 at this time.”

Microsoft officials first discussed plans for IE 9 in March 2010. IE 9 will be more compliant with the emerging HTML5, CSS3 and SVG2 standards and will include a new JavaScript engine (code-named “Chakra”). It will take advantage of PC hardware to accelerate graphics performance. IE 9 will work on Vista and Windows 7, but not Windows XP.

Company officials have not been willing to pinpoint a due-date target for IE 9, but many of us company watchers are thinking it will be in 2011

What do you think of the direction Microsoft may be taking — if this information is accurate — with the user interface for IE 9?

Internet News German government warns citizens off IE Read more: http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/german-government-warns-citizens-off-ie-6641

"Don't use IE 6, 7 or 8 and switch browser," says Federal Office

The German government's Federal Office for Information Security is warning computer users in the country NOT to use Microsoft Internet Explorer due to recent security scares.

The state organisation has issued the warning following Microsoft's admission that IE was a 'vector' in the recent attacks on Google in China.

The German government is thus advising its citizens to use alternative browsers such as Mozilla's Firefox, Google Chrome, Apple Safari or Opera.

Assessing the risk

For its part, Microsoft is adamant that the risk to users remains low, with German rep for the company, Thomas Baumgaertner, a spokesman for Microsoft in Germany, claiming that the recent attacks on Google were by "highly motivated people with a very specific agenda" and adding that they were "not attacks against general users or consumers."

"There is no threat to the general user, consequently we do not support this warning," said the Microsoft rep.

Microsoft is advising IE users to set their browser's security zone to "high" although other security experts, such as Sophos' Graham Cluley of anti-virus firm Sophos, have stressed the importance of the fact that the instructions on how to exploit the flaw have been posted online.

"This is a vulnerability that was announced in the last couple of days. Microsoft have no patch yet and the implication is that this is the same one that exploited on the attacks on Google earlier this week," Cluley told the BBC.

"The way to exploit this flaw has now appeared on the internet, so it is quite possible that everyone is now going to have a go."

"We've been working to analyse the malware that the Chinese are using. But new versions can always be created," added Cluley, who has also been working closely with Microsoft, "to see if the damage can be mitigated and we are hoping that they will release an emergency patch."

IE 9 preview offers tantalizing look at IE's future

The fourth and final developer's preview of Internet Explorer 9 was released on Wednesday, with significant updates to standards compliance and rendering speed, according to Microsoft. Microsoft said in a blog post that the developer's previews had been downloaded more than 2.5 million times, indicating that despite Internet Explorer's plummeting market share over the past few years, developer interest in seeing it improve remains high.

The vast and dramatic improvements made to Internet Explorer 9 are readily apparent, even in this stripped-down preview version. Hardware accelerated HTML5 support is a major and multifaceted component of IE9, allowing for more complex and high-powered audio and video support within the browser.

There's also extensive SVG animation support, although, as Microsoft points out in its blog, the animated SVG standards have yet to be finalized. You can see how these differences affect real-world rendering when you run the IE9 preview's SVG tests in other browsers, since they render imperfectly. Still, Microsoft is forging ahead and appears eager to address standards compliance in IE9, which is a good sign.

Internet Explorer 9's new JavaScript engine is a radical departure from older versions. Microsoft says that IE9's Chakra engine is remarkable for the way that the engine is integrated into the browser, as opposed, the company says, to being "bolted on." Previous versions of the developer's preview had Chakra in the "bolted on" position.

Microsoft says that decreases page load times and offers benchmarks that the company conducted showing the fourth preview of the browser in the top five browsers for the WebKit SunSpider JavaScript test.

The fourth IE9 preview also does better than any previous version of Internet Explorer on the Acid3 test, which compares a number of commonly used Web browsing technologies. The latest IE9 preview scores 95 out of 100, while the current Internet Explorer 8 only scores 83.

Microsoft offers multiple tests that can be accessed from within the preview so users can see how they perform on their own computers. The developer's preview now lets you copy and paste, but here are a few of the more interesting ones. To access them in other browsers, click on the following links: Hamster Dance Revolution and Psychedelic Browsing for testing JavaScript; IE Beatz and Tweet Map for testing hardware acceleration; or IETrade for seeing how the HTML5 canvas tag can be used in IE9. Note that "Hamster Dance Revolution" may induce rage seizures.

Some of these changes, such as the integration of the JavaScript engine, are unique to Internet Explorer. Others, such as the hardware acceleration, bring the browser up to speed with others, or surpass them entirely. The developer previews of Internet Explorer have served a similar purpose to any good pre-beta technology, by building anticipation that the beta will be more or less usable on a daily basis. The actual feature set and user interface that Microsoft builds on top of the engine will determine a significant amount of how people react to the browser, and it's yet to be seen whether Microsoft takes a page from the playbooks of Google and Mozilla and introduce faster revisions.

Microsoft Internet Explorer Reports JailbreakMe As Unsafe Site

Microsoft Internet Explorer has blocked navigation to JailbreakMe.com warning that it is an unsafe site, according to a tweet by @comex.

Reported Unsafe Website: Navigation Blocked
This website has been reported as unsafe: http://www.jailbreakme.com

We recommend that you do not continue to this website. This website has been reported to Microsoft for containing threats to your computer that might reveal personal or financial information.

This of course has no effect on jailbreaking your device with MobileSafari but is noteable nonetheless.

Chinese Hackers Attacked Google Through Internet Explorer?

If you follow the news even vaguely, then you've heard about Google's announcement that it may exit the Chinese market in response to hacker attacks originating in China that sought to access the private information of human rights advocates. I've argued that whether Google stays or not, such attacks aren't likely to stop. So I don't really see what Google expects to gain from leaving now, as opposed to months or years ago. But today a new wrinkle emerges: the attacks occurred as a result of an unknown flaw in Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Here's the news blurb, via PCWorld:

Microsoft Security Response Center director Mike Reavey said in an e-mailed statement "This afternoon, Microsoft issued Security Advisory 979352 to help customers mitigate a Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability in Internet Explorer. The company has determined that Internet Explorer was one of the vectors used in targeted and sophisticated attacks targeted against Google and other corporate networks."



Am I the only one that finds this an interesting plot twist? Microsoft provided the window through which the Chinese hackers crawled through. A few thoughts about this:

First, what is Google doing using Internet Explorer? Shouldn't it be running its own Google Chrome browser instead? Or at least Mozilla Firefox?

Maybe the excuse here is that it's impossible for a software company like Google to entirely avoid using Internet Explorer. After all, if it wants to produce browser-agnostic software, then it needs to test its systems in all varieties. So it probably can't avoid IE altogether, but I wonder if it's planning to use it even less now, particularly for its external Internet usage unreleated to product testing.

Second, this story is another blow for Internet Explorer. The Google-China spat is big news right now, and this thrusts Microsoft in the center of it. As I mentioned a few months ago, IE is already beginning to give up small chunks of its market share each month to other browsers like Firefox and Chrome. Could this push firms affected by the Chinese attack to also begin exploring other browser alternatives? Will the rest of the Internet-using public take notice?

If Google really wants to live its "don't be evil" mantra, then it might consider starting an antivirus unit of its own, and/or developing its Chrome browser to be virus proof. In my opinion, other than physical violence, there are few things more evil than computer viruses. They plague unsuspecting Internet users and lead to stolen identities, invasions of privacy, stolen property and incredible inconvenience.

I consider computer viruses technological weapons of mass destruction, and the hackers who create them terrorists. As these foreign-based attacks continue to become more common, the U.S. might want to consider putting more of its defense budget towards preventing them. I don't begin to doubt that millions of dollars are lost each year because of virus attacks. Eventually that tally will reach the billions, if it hasn't already.