Microsoft released the latest version of their web browser – Internet Explorer 9 to the public last Monday and racked up a total of 2.35 million downloads in it’s first 24 hours of availability. I’ve been very busy since Monday and it was only today that I got to download, install and try out Internet Explorer 9 and to be honest, I kinda like it.

Here are the new features or changes made from previous versions of Internet Explorer:

• User Interface – Pinned Sites, Security-enabled Download Manager, Address Bar Search, Enhanced Tabs and Tab Page, Add-on Performance Advisor and Compact user interface.
• Scripting – Javascript Engine, DOM
• CSS
• HTML5 – HTML5 Media, HTML5 Canvas, HTML5 Inline SVG support
• Web typographyMalware protection

Unfortunately for Windows XP users, Internet Explorer 9 only works with the following versions of Windows – Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

One of the cool features of IE9 that I like is the Pinned Sites feature which integrates with the Windows 7 taskbar and allows the user to “pin” a site to the taskbar and use it as a shortcut. If you want to “pin” a site, all you need to do is type the URL of the website that you want to pin and once the site has completely loaded, just click on the tab, drag towards the taskbar and when it says “Pin to Taskbar” release it. See screenshot below.

I’m sure some of you will like the Internet Explorer 9′s built-in F12 Developer Tools, this is similar to the Firebug extension on Firefox or Developer Tools on Google Chrome which allows the user to edit, debug, and monitor CSS, HTML, and JavaScript live in any web page.

If you’re trying to look for a Search bar on Internet Explorer 9, you won’t find any because it doesn’t have one. On Internet Explorer 9, the address bar doubles as the search bar. If you choose Google as your default search engine, you can enable Google Suggest (an auto-suggest feature).

Other cool features include InPrivate Browsing (same as Google Chrome’s Incognito) which prevents Internet Explorer from storing your browsing session data – cookies, temporary Internet files, history, etc. and the Tracking Protection feature which blocks ads, third-party cookies, tracking pixels, web beacons, hit counters, analytics scripts and other tools used by ad agencies and other organizations to track and profile the activities of web users.

I really like Internet Explorer 9 because it is a whole lot better than its predecessors and it has some very cool new features, but I’m still sticking to Mozilla Firefox as my default web browser because of the extensions/addons/plugins that I rely on for work and make things so much easy and convenient for me. Although, I might consider replacing Google Chrome and use Internet Explorer 9 as my secondary web browser.

Download Internet Explorer 9

Anyone installed and tried Internet Explorer 9? How do you like it so far? Which feature/s of Internet Explorer 9 do you like the most? Would you consider using it as your default web browser? Please share your thoughts.

10 years ago a browser was born.

Its name was Internet Explorer 6. Now that we’re in 2011, in an era of modern web standards, it’s time to say goodbye.

This website is dedicated to watching Internet Explorer 6 usage drop to less than 1% worldwide, so more websites can choose to drop support for Internet Explorer 6, saving hours of work for web developers.

The Internet Explorer 6 Countdown website not only encourages users to get rid or abandon the aged browser but it also displays data based on the usage of Internet Explorer 6 around the world.

The website also provides users resources on how to spread the word about IE6 Countdown campaign or how to educate others on why they should stop using IE6. They even provide a tool for displaying a “You are using an outdated browser” banner for use on websites and blogs.

Microsoft has also designed special programs called “migration workshops” that are designed to help companies and business organizations that still use IE6 to have an easier and smoother transition to a more modern web browser. The program covers topics like how to address compatibility issues and virtualization solutions for IE6.

Some of you might be wondering what all the fuss is about IE6. Here’s a little background information for those who don’t have any idea about this topic. IE6 is the default web browser installed on Windows XP & Windows Server 2003 and because it is a very outdated browser, it has a lot of security issues and lacks support for modern web standards (XHTML, CSS, HTML5, etc.).

If you’re still using Internet Explorer 6, please do yourself a favor and upgrade to a later version of Internet Explorer or use an alternative web browser like Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome or Opera.

Do you or someone you know still use Internet Explorer 6 or IE6 as their default web browser? What do you think of the Internet Explorer 6 Countdown website? Are you helping in spreading the word to get IE6 completely eradicated?

Today, November 9th marks the sixth birthday of the Mozilla Firefox web browser. Firefox is my main browser of choice for the past eight years. I started using it back in 2002 when it was still called Phoenix/Firebird. I still remember the day I first installed it on my computer and how it felt to have a cool, new browser that was much better than the default Internet Explorer or alternative web browsers like Netscape and Opera.

For something that started as an experimental branch of the Mozilla Suite, Firefox has surely gone a long way. Firefox is now available in more than 70 languages and has about a quarter of Internet users choosing Firefox as their web browser of choice. Mozilla Firefox has been downloaded more than 1 billion times with the latest version, Firefox 3.6 having been downloaded more than 42 million times. Aside from that, more than 150 million users use Firefox Add-ons to customize their Web experience.

Personally, I’m looking forward to the new features and other enhancements that will be added/included in the upcoming version – Firefox 4. New features will include a redesigned UI (user interface), a home tab, “door hanger” notifications, improved support for HTML5 and CSS3 features. Firefox 4 will also include the Firefox Sync project – a tool that allows users to sync stuff like bookmarks and browsing history with the cloud and a new type of tab called an “application tab” similar to the Mozilla Prism project which allows users to turn web pages like Gmail into applications.

I know that other browsers like Google Chrome and Opera can hold their own against Firefox but until another web browser can offer me the same addons/extensions I have on Firefox which I heavily use and rely on for work, I’ll continue to be a happy Firefox camper.

Happy Birthday Firefox!

[image source: Flickr/Ryan Doherty]

Got an email invite a few weeks back from Aileen Apolo-de Jesus for an exclusive Google Chrome event. Since I couldn’t make it to the event, I asked Aileen if she could send me a press kit. I got it October 1st but because of my busy schedule and the week-long road trip, I wasn’t able to blog about it right away and ended up forgetting about it. Remembered about it today and decided to share it with you guys even though it’s a bit late.

Andrew McGlinchey, Google Southeast Asia Head of Product Management and Derek Callow, Google Southeast Asia Head of Marketing were both at the event to unveil the new Chrome features made by Filipinos, for Filipinos. They were joined by dozens of bloggers and top names in the Filipino Industry.

Highlights of the event include a video about a survey done by Google Southeast Asia that asked random people the question – “What is a browser?” and unveiling of local Chrome apps/extensions and themes created specifically for Filipinos.

Philippine Google Chrome Extensions
Some of the local Chrome apps unveiled during the event were from local companies and websites like ABS-CBN, Philippine Airlines, SmartBro, Cebu Pacific, Pinoy Exchange and Ayos Dito.

Philippine Google Chrome Themes
Here are some of the local Chrome themes created by Filipino artists:

Maria Makiling by Arnold Arre

Team Manila

Corey Cruz

Electrolychee

Drew Europeo

You can check out the rest of the local Chrome themes from the Google Chrome Philippines theme page. You can also view photos of the event from Aileen’s blog.

Anyone else attended the Google Chrome for Filipinos event? For my Filipino readers, which local app or local theme do you like the most? Please share your thoughts.

[image by Aileen Apolo-de Jesus]

It was exactly two years ago this month, when Google released the first beta of Chrome, their version of the web browser. Since then, Chrome have accumulated numerous features, browser themes, password manager, better privacy controls, built-in Adobe Flash Player, HTML5 capabilities and over 6,000 extensions.

For Chrome’s 2nd birthday, Google is celebrating this momentous occasion by releasing a faster and more streamlined stable version – Chrome 6.0.

Today, we’re releasing a new stable version of Chrome that is even faster and more streamlined. Chrome is now three times faster than it was two years ago on JavaScript performance. We’ve also been working on simplifying the “chrome” of Chrome. As you can see, we took the already minimalist user interface and stripped it down a bit more to make it easier to use. We combined Chrome’s two menus into one, revisited the location of the buttons, cleaned up the treatment of the URL and the Omnibox, and adjusted the color scheme of the browser to be easier on the eyes.

Screenshots of the Old and New versions of Google Chrome.

Old Chrome – first beta

New Chrome – latest stable release 6.0

Personally, I still use Mozilla Firefox as my main web browser because of the different extensions/plugins that I use for work and which I can’t live without. However, I always install and keep a copy of Google Chrome on every computer that I have as an alternative/backup web browser and for testing purposes.

You can upgrade to the latest stable version of Google Chrome directly from the browser by clicking on the wrench icon on the upper right corner and then click on About Google Chrome. You can also download it directly from http://www.google.com/chrome. If you’re having a hard time downloading/installing from that link, you can try the offline installer.