As expected the Platform Preview of IE9 was released to the web today during the Day 2 Keynote at Microsoft’s MIX10 Conference in Las Vegas, NV.
You can run over and grab it at http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/info/ThankYou/Default.html and get it installed. It will install separately from your current browser and allow you to test things out without impacting your OS. Expect updates about every 8 weeks to the platform preview.
Don’t be alarmed when you first fire up the IE9PP. It looks kind of bare:
There are no tabs, address bar, etc. No bells and whistles and that is on purpose. If you want to open a certain webpage just click Page>Open on the menu bar and type in the address.
Another key note that appears in the FAQ page is that this will not run on Windows XP:
Does Platform Preview run on Windows XP? No. Internet Explorer 9’s GPU-powered graphics take advantage of new technologies available in Windows 7 and back-ported only to Windows Vista. These technologies depend on advancements in the display driver model introduced first in Windows Vista.
This browser also can not be registered as your default web browser on your system – again from the FAQ (my bolding):
Why do some links open in my browser? When a hyperlink targets a new window, Platform Preview opens it in your default browser. Since Platform Preview cannot be registered as your system’s default browser, the link does not open in it.
Some key pages about the IE9 Platform Preview:
- User Guide
- Release Notes
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Microsoft IE Blog
- HTML5, Hardware Accelerated: First IE9 Platform Preview Available for Developers (IE Blog)
The first blog post at the IE MSDN Blog is in depth about the IE9 Platform Preview and what you can expect over the course of this Platform Preview.
