It's Trim, It's Fast, and It's Secured, But Is It For You?

Microsoft reps told me that this browser had been the fastest adopted beta in the company's history and benefited from the most tester feedback by far. This should translate into fewer site-compatibility issues going forward. The browser also offers great speed, security and privacy tools, and support for much of HTML5's glories.

Though this is called version 9 of IE, in some ways it feels more like a version 1: it's a complete rebuild of Microsoft's browser. It still lacks some conveniences and frills found in other browsers, like themes and bookmark syncing. Some of these may come, but Microsoft may consider those features to be "the browser getting in the way."

IE9 is the result of a massive effort by a large team of super smart people, and huge number of beta testers. And it's an impressive, innovative app that I'm sure will come to benefit millions of Web users, especially once graphics-heavy sites are common. It's a no-brainer for those using IE8 on Windows 7 or Vista. Google Chrome 10 is my Editors' Choice among Web browsers, because it adds nifty tricks like Instant page display and syncing to already blazing speed and minimalist design—and brings that stuff to every currently popular operating system, including Windows XP.