back to article Stripped-down IE9 interface leaks in Russia

Internet Explorer 9 is getting a stripped down interface, if a screenshot leaked online is to be believed. The next IE will feature a back button, a combined URL and search box at the top, and do away with "Favorites, "Suggested Sites," and "Get More Add-Ons" items, according to Microsoft watcher Mary-Jo Foley here. The peak …

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  1. TheRobster

    Looks like Chrome

    to me.

    1. Tim #3

      Which looks like Opera

      To me

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    hmmmm

    Let me guess. As you type your URL that pain in the butt auto complete and search suggestion crap will appear.

    Why do they keep doing this. I like IE, but I am being forced to use firefox just to bypass this sort of crap.

    1. Test Man
      FAIL

      FAIL

      You can turn this off and always have been able to turn it off. Why don't you actually properly use it instead of using it as a poor excuse to run to other browsers?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        wait

        You need an excuse now?

        1. jnewco81
          Thumb Up

          title

          I find IE's slow speed and tendency to freeze altogether, the best reasons to switch*. I have had several friends complain that their internet isn't working very well, or that the connection is pathetic. I then ask them to try out Chrome and they are bowled over by how quick it is!

          *Having built a few websites in my time, I also harbour a bit of a grudge against it - you can guarantee that at testing stage IE won't be playing nicely...

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Flame

        Its called being at work

        And not allowed to change the settings sue to policies rolled out.

        Idiot.

        1. Dan 55 Silver badge
          Go

          PortableApps.com is your friend

          It's got versions of Firefox and Chrome which can be installed to any directory without any need for admin permissions (e.g. My Documents).

    2. Penguin herder
      Linux

      But then...

      "Why do they keep doing this. I like IE, but I am being forced to use firefox just to bypass this sort of crap."

      ... you don't like IE, right? It's ok to admit it. You might even find another OS to meet your needs.

  3. sT0rNG b4R3 duRiD
    Gates Horns

    IE9?

    What's IE9?

  4. karl 15
    Go

    pic

    Show a pic then

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Huh?

    Is she blind? I see a back button and a forward button on the left of the address/search bar. There's reload and stop buttons in the middle. Then on the right are a home, favorites and tools buttons.

    I do hope this is just someone's idea of a prank though or an early test. I really don't like that they've put the address bar on the same row as the tabs. There's just not enough room there unless you only keep one or two tabs open. I also bemoan the lack of a status bar to help show me where malicious links go to. I've never liked the combined address/search bars either as I've never found them to do a terribly good job at determining whether I want to search or just go to an address. The little pull down history menu that is currently next to the back/forward buttons would also be sorely missed.

    I also note that the oversized back button runs into the webpage being displayed, making it more likely that this isn't considered the finished UI.

  6. Goat Jam
    FAIL

    OMG they've invented google chrome!

    Innovation is alive and well in Redmond! *

    * May not be true

  7. Andy Jones

    Hypocrites

    Didn't Microsoft make a big thing about Google being sent the URL of every website you visited because Google Chrome has a combined URL/Search box? What a bunch of morons, and this will be considered great innovation by their fan boys!

  8. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    Is it me....

    ...or doe it just like i.e.8 with some of the bars removed? (Menu, Favouries) and the command bar stripped down. In fact it looks pretty much identical to my i.e8!

    Still no Opera speed dial though...

  9. Rasczak
    WTF?

    Thread hijack

    Ready to be flamed for turning yet another browser story to Opera but......

    <article>

    view two pages side by side – a feature already found in Firefox and Safari.

    </article>

    The only way I can see to do this in Firefox is with an extension, I could be wrong though. I don't have a Safari install to check it out so don't know how it works there.

    Opera has had this, due to its MDI heritage, since the first private versions in 1995, nearly 10 years before Firefox was a twinkle in a developers eye.

    Opera can tile and cascade the tabs as well as allow you to set the sizes differently if you want, I use it regulary and will be very handy this weekend for the F1. I can have live timing on one window, circuit map in another, streaming on-board video in another and streaming world feed in the last, all sized to my taste.

    1. John King 1

      Side-by-side on Firefox

      Yes, I would love to know how to do that too. I can't find the option anywhere.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Java

    Well what do you expect if it's based on Java. That interface is typical shiny Java waste, and it'll perform like a dog. I know politically Java makes sense now that Sun is owned by Oracle, and because of Ballmer and Ellison's special agreement, but it still annoys me that I need the JVM just to browse using IE7.

  11. Futumsh
    FAIL

    I don't care about the interface....

    ...what I really want is a browser that will open tabs quickly, will allow you to still use it while another tab is opening and that is capable of handling page refreshing on Twitter. Oh, hang on, that would be Firefox or Chrome.

    IE 8 is crap and I don't expect 9 to be any better.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: .what I really want is a browser that will open tabs quickly

      Have you got spybot, or something else that puts lots of items in "restricted site list"? That slows I8 opening tabs down a lot - I usually don't find any issue using one tab in IE8 while opening 20 more and if there is flash involved I don't experience a total lock up/crash due to flash! (and flash crashing only takes out the one tab not the browser as my experience of firefox)

      Typed on Firefox - sans Flash

  12. gav_taylor

    Im not convinced

    I saw the screen shot yesterday and Im not convinced that its the final design.

    its probably an early developer ui so the guys n gals at microshaft can use the developer previews a little easier than the one they dished out to us.

    they said a couple of times they didn't want us using it as a everyday browser so didn't add an easy to use interface, but I would have thought the developers would want to be able to use it as much as possible while waiting for the design dept to finish tweaking a design layout so will have built themselves a basic ui for developing with.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Headmaster

    It may be a peak of IE development...

    ... but what you got was a peek at it.

    OK, I'll be off before you throw that dictionary at me...

    1. Maty

      drat - I wanted a peak

      With the Cascade mountains so close, you'd think a Seattle-based company could spare a peak or two.

      (or to put that into Reglish -

      'Wiz thee Cascade Mountains sew cloze, yew'd thing a Seattle-based company cold spear a peek oar too.')

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    firefox

    my configuration: menu bar (File, Edit etc,) then on the same panel, Back and Forward buttons, reload, stop, home, new tab, address bar, search bar. All small icons with no text. Everything neatly contained on the same panel/bar.

    It gives me everything I need at my fingertips, looks great on all monitors I've used from 15 to 22" and I'll wager it still takes up less space than IE9's solution will. The beauty of course is that anyone can change it if they decide that my way is foolish.

    So yeah, not impressed by this news.

  15. A handle is required
    Thumb Down

    More like...

    A stripped down interface to hide the very much full-feature mess of cobwebs.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "Opera can do it"

    Opera is like a 500-piece pocket multi-tool with every kind of hand-tool invented + built in life raft, emergency flares, satellite missile tracking, kitchen sink and dildo polish dispenser.

    And the damn thing sits in a drawer because people just want one good blade.

    And it seems the more crap they pile on top the less people care about their browser.

    The number of times I've heard "Opera has Ad Block built in" o rly? Show me. It's like looking for unicorn turds.

  17. DEAD4EVER
    Go

    ie9 stripped

    looks abit like other browsers to me heh see browsers dont need all that bloatware to run be interesting to see what kind of memory ie9 uses then il try it of course but if its rubbish im uninstalling it end of.

  18. RollinPowell

    IE makes me sad

    Usually nobody loves early leaks like me but this one makes me sad. I would have been happier not seeing IE9 until absolutely necessary (like when downloading firefox on a new computer). After all this IE talk I need a drink....

  19. Paul 135
    Thumb Down

    Looks a bit *too* minimal

    The problem with trying to "out-minimize" the competitors is that you reach the point where minimalism != good. I think the IE9 screenshot has passed that point - everything looks a bit squashed at the top.

    Hopefully Mozilla will stick to there senses and make Firefox more minimal, but not as *over minimal* as this.

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