IE9

Good People has a training division to it's business and here it's IT expert, the ICT Godfather (Nigel Howard, but he likes you to call him Godfather)  looks at the launch of Microsoft's latest Internet Explorer (IE9).

Software giant Microsoft have finally released it's new web browser IE9 after beta trials this new programme is said to put it on a par with the other leading browsers including Firefox, Safari and Google Chrome.

Microsoft has suffered greatly over the years with various security problems surrounding the IE family as people emigrated to there competitors' in droves however Microsoft believes this new software will bring people back however this latest update does not run on Windows XP and can only be used in conjunction with Windows 7 and Vista., another nail in the coffin of Windows XP.  Again evidence of Microsoft's bullying tactics forcing users onto their latest products

So far, according to Microsoft figures more than 40 million IE9 beta test versions have been downloaded worldwide this shows there is still a keen interest in Microsoft's browser family.  According to some statistics IE has about a 55% share of the world markets. where Firefox has about 23%, Google Chrome 12% and Safari 5%. These figures vary depending on which survey you read.

Microsoft said one key feature of the IE9 was tools that will be able to stop people being tracked as they move from site to site. This information is often gathered by commercial companies who tailor advertisements to the specific habits of each web user.  Microsoft also said separate tools in IE9 keep an eye on downloads so they can spot when viruses and trojans try to access the computer.

Microsoft said one of the IE9's key features was hardware acceleration that is built in so it can call on the power of the PC's graphics card to display sites in more detail. Making it more attractive to users.

Microsoft's leading competitor Firefox already had a lot of the new IE9 concepts in place including; Speed. Firefox was reported to be the fastest browser when it came to download speeds.  Not only do programs and files download faster, but you get organisation, a record of all your download's displayed in a table, so you can delete or move them at your convenience.  In addition Firefox has some advanced security measures that will protect your computer(s) from spyware and even some viruses.  Firefox also comes with a state-of-the-art popup blocker that is reputedly stops almost 100 percent of annoying PopUps.
Firefox also has an embedded memory, which means if your computer is turned off by mistake the Firefox will remember which Internet pages you had open and offer to get them back for you once reactivated.

Time will tell but Firefox has the upper hand as its software can run on Windows XP there are still millions of people who remain with Windows XP for a variety of reasons including keeping their purse strings tight during the recession.