Microsoft Rolled Out First Public Beta of Internet Explorer 9

Microsoft released the first public beta of its sceptically-anticipated web-browser, the Windows Internet Explorer 9 (or IE9). Sceptical, because the previous two versions did not really shine compared to other web-browsers in performance, and anticipated, because it promised revolutionary changes in the rendering engine and the way it works. IE9 is one of the first browsers that uses GPU (graphics processors) for rendering almost every page element, including text and layout. It features a new Javascript engine codenamed "Chakra" that has higher JS performance, and supports HTML5 web standards. The UI itself looks very lean and modelled along the lines of Google Chrome, with just the bare-essential controls, and menus. The address bar doubles up as a search bar. There are loads of functionality improvements, including detachable tabs, Windows Aero Snap tabs, and the ability to pin favourite websites to the Windows 7 taskbar. A performance manager monitors plugins and advices you to disable those which are slowing down the browser.