Microsoft has just released IE10 Platform Preview 2. The download, which is now live on the IE test drive site, is the latest offering from Microsoft for the new platform. IE10 is the follow up to generally well received IE9, which was released only a couple months ago; platform preview 2 is the follow up to platform preview 1, which was released about 11 weeks ago.
For Microsoft, they have been fighting a battle against Chrome and FireFox for marketshare. While Microsoft did let IE6 go stale, the following iterations have built upon the success of the previous generation to bring new features to the table. Microsoft"s latest browser, IE9, has been downloaded by millions of users.
IE10 for Microsoft represents their continued march towards bringing new and innovative products to the web. While it is not known what all the new platform will bring to the table, we do know that it will bring enhanced security features and will allow the browser to do more without the need for plug-ins. The IE blog states:
- Beautiful and interactive Web applications are easier to deliver with support for several new technologies like CSS3 Positioned Floats, HTML5 Drag-drop, File Reader API, Media Query Listeners and initial support for HTML5 Forms.
- HTML5 Application performance improves across the board, as well as the ability to deliver better performance with more efficient use of battery life with new technologies like Web Workers with Channel Messaging, Async script support, and others.
- Web application security improves using the same markup with support for HTML5 Sandbox for iframe isolation.
With each new platform release, Microsoft moves closer to releasing IE10 for general consumption. The new platform will build upon the success of IE9 and will bring many new features to the consumer.
Download: IE10 Platform Preview 2