Internet Explorer 9 Test Version Showcased At Microsoft's Professional Developer Conference

November 20, 2009 10:27 a.m. EST

Los Angelses, CA (AHN) - Microsoft in an attempt to regain some of the foothold on web browsers showed off Internet Explorer 9 on Wednesday. A test version of IE 9 was shown at Microsoft's professional developer conference.

Despite IE still being the most widely used browser it garner a connotation by many as being technologically outdated after the browser wars of the 1990s, which buried Netscape. In its complacency rose rivals such as Firefox, Apple's Safari and Google's Chrome.

Subsequently Microsoft has funneling some of the company's vast resources into Internet Explorer. During the conference, attendees saw a test version that showed off IE 9's new hardware-accelerated text and graphics. The acceleration feature takes advantage previously unused computing power in a way that's more useful than other browser-boosting technology such as Google's Native Client to tap into a PC's processor and Mozilla's WebGL for accelerated 3D graphics.

According to a Microsoft spokesperson it is a direct improvement to everybody's usage of the Web on a daily basis. It allows web developers to tap directly into a PC's graphics hardware to make their text work better and graphics work better.

The Professional Developers Conference (PDC) is a three day developer event focused on the technical strategy of the Microsoft developer platform. Attendees come from around the world to learn about the future of Microsoft developer technology directly from the people who construct and develop the products and infrastructure.