Did you hear that Microsoft just released Internet Explorer 9 Public Beta? It was presented to a room full of journalists in San Francisco few days ago. Apparently, it was a huge hit because everyone cheered.

The main reason for the excitement is that Internet Explorer 9 could revolutionize the way we view Web sites. Until now, we relied on Web browsers, such as Explorer, Safari, Firefox or Chrome, to visit our favorite sites. With IE9 however, this could change. One of the major new features in IE9 – the pinned sites – will let you create shortcuts to your favorite Web sites on your desktop. You only need to open it once through your browser – then you can just drag the icon to your taskbar and you have the shortcut to that Web site. You’ll never have to open IE9 again to view it.

Now I know what some people mean when they say IE9 could kill the Web browser. But the fact that you need it just once to open a site, so you can create the shortcut, means you still need the browser. I think IE9 will only change the way we think about the browser – from now on, it will be more about the content than about the provider. I wonder if this will bring the browser war to the end, or just change it?

Other features of IE9 include faster speed, and Jump Lists, which you can use to access certain content directly, such as your Wall and Profile in Facebook. Also, Microsoft has embraced HTML5, which means it’s now easier for developers to build Web sites that are compatible with all browsers.

To view a demonstration of IE9’s speed, please see this Youtube video where IE9 faces off with Chrome 6.

Microsoft won’t say when the final version of Internet Explorer 9 will be released, but it should be soon. For more information on IE9, please visit this Wiki page or the official Microsoft IE9 page.

Source: Microsoft and news.com.au