Microsoft said on Tuesday that it has made an early version of Internet Explorer 9 available for download.
The Internet Explorer 9 "test drive" (developer platform preview) is available at ietestdrive.com. The preview build will not include the UI elements of Internet Explorer 9 but will allow developers to test the new JavaScript engine and HTML5/CSS3 support.
Microsoft originally unveiled Internet Explorer 9 at PDC 2009. IE 9 will take advantage of the power of the GPU for all page rendering and developers can exploit this using CSS, DHTML and javascript. A new JS engine (codenamed Chakra) will also be built into Internet Explorer 9 with greater interoperability and standards support all round. Features such as rounded corner CSS support will be built in. In January, Neowin revealed that Microsoft is planning to enhance tabbed browsing in IE9. According to a software patent, the Quick Tabs feature in Internet Explorer is likely to be enhanced with better functionality and greater tab management options.
Microsoft is also planning broader support for HTML5 in Internet Explorer 9 through its new script engine. Stay tuned for more information.
Download: Internet Explorer 9 developer preview
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