Internet Exporer 9 Beta Launched - Ready to Take on Google Chrome and Firefox

Microsoft released a beta version of it latest web browser, Internet Explorer 9. IE9 represents a major change in underlying code base when compared to Microsoft's previous browsers. Microsoft took a look at some of the up and coming Internet web browser's best features and worked hard to incorporate them into its latest offering.

Here is a look at some of the new features that offered in IE9. Many of these feature are already available on Google Chrome, and in some cases Firefox. But with IE9 you will continue to see better integration with Windows 7 when compared to other Internet browsers since IE9 is native to the Windows platform.

Tear-away Tabs in IE9
Already available in Google Chrome, there is a feature that lets you select a tab and pull it off of the main browser and create a separate window. You can also take that window and insert it back into the main window. It is a handy feature if you want to break out a tab and make it into a separate window.

GPU Processing in IE9

Another feature that Microsoft is tauting is that Internet Explorer 9 will use your computers GPU processor. One reason why users see better performance when using Google Chrome and Firefox, is that these browsers already use GPU processors. In addition Mac's Safari browser has been using GPU processors for quite some time. This should allow IE9 to reach the same performance measures as previous web browsers.

HTML5 support in IE9
HTML5 is quickly becoming the new web standard by which media is delivered to the users. Microsoft is taking a good step forward when it comes to adhering to browser standards with its latest version of Internet Explorer. This means that site maintainers will need to spend less time writing the extraneous code that was needed when dealing with web browsers made by Microsoft.

Pinning Sites in IE9
Developing better integration with Windows 7 was the main focus for Microsoft when creating new features for Internet Explorer 9. You can select a website and have it pinned to your task bar. To access the website, you do not even have to open your browser and search for it, just simply click on the pinned site on the task bar. This type of feature is similar to pinning a site to your desktop, which is already available in older version of Windows and on any Linux desktop.

IS IE9 Safe from Computer Viruses and Malware?
So to answer the question, is IE9 better than IE8, the answer should be a definitive YES. However, when you ask the question, is IE9 safe to use to browse the Internet? The answer remains to be seen. Based on Microsoft's previous history with security and browsers, you should not feel entirely safe cruising around the web with a beta version of a Microsoft product. If you decide to download Internet Explorer 9, be sure you use it to visit trusted web sites, and have an up to data version of virus protection software running.