Bad News for Windows XP Users: No IE9 For You
The good news for Internet Explorer (IE) fans is that that Microsoft is putting the finishing touches on IE9 Beta and will roll the browser out to the public. Just the other day we were reporting that IE9 Beta will be released next month, on the 15th of September. The exciting part is that with the launch of IE9 Beta, IE fans will get to see how the browser’s interface will look like.
This is not the fist time that Microsoft gives IE fans a taste of IE9. So far Microsoft has rolled out several IE9 developer previews, but they only featured some under the hood changes. Some significant changes:
- Better hardware acceleration.
- Better SunSpider and Acid3 results.
- Better support for Web fonts.
- Support for the HTML5 Canvas element.
These developer previews did not have a UI (user interface), which meant the IE fan could not see how IE9 looks like. That will all change once IE9 Beta will be rolled out in less than a month’s time.
Here comes the bad news: if you’re still using Windows XP, you will not be able to use IE9 Beta, or the Release Candidate, or the Final version – whenever these versions will be released. IE9 will not provide support for the Windows XP operating system, it will only provide support for Windows Vista and Windows 7. As IE General Manager, Dean Hachamovitch said at the MIX10 Web developer conference, a modern browser deserves a modern operating system.
According to Redmond-based software giant Microsoft, out of all Windows users out there, around 68% are still clinging to Windows XP, the operating system that was released way backing 2001. Microsoft estimates that the larger part of that percentage is made up of corporate customers who have not left XP behind because they cannot afford a large-scale software (and hardware) upgrade.
This is not the fist time that Microsoft gives IE fans a taste of IE9. So far Microsoft has rolled out several IE9 developer previews, but they only featured some under the hood changes. Some significant changes:
- Better hardware acceleration.
- Better SunSpider and Acid3 results.
- Better support for Web fonts.
- Support for the HTML5 Canvas element.
These developer previews did not have a UI (user interface), which meant the IE fan could not see how IE9 looks like. That will all change once IE9 Beta will be rolled out in less than a month’s time.
Here comes the bad news: if you’re still using Windows XP, you will not be able to use IE9 Beta, or the Release Candidate, or the Final version – whenever these versions will be released. IE9 will not provide support for the Windows XP operating system, it will only provide support for Windows Vista and Windows 7. As IE General Manager, Dean Hachamovitch said at the MIX10 Web developer conference, a modern browser deserves a modern operating system.
According to Redmond-based software giant Microsoft, out of all Windows users out there, around 68% are still clinging to Windows XP, the operating system that was released way backing 2001. Microsoft estimates that the larger part of that percentage is made up of corporate customers who have not left XP behind because they cannot afford a large-scale software (and hardware) upgrade.
