Our mission here at Money Talks News is to help you save more, spend less, and avoid rip-offs – all of which are best accomplished with help from the Internet. The easier it is to use the web, the better. With that in mind, here’s a suggestion that will improve your web surfing…
A few days ago, Microsoft released version 9.0 of its popular Internet Explorer web browser. The upgraded browser is completely free, brings new features to the table, and corrects some longstanding annoyances. If you haven’t taken the time to upgrade yet, here’s why you should…
A better interface
The first thing you’ll notice when you start up 9.0 is the redesigned interface. Microsoft has put a lot of time and effort into studying how people interact with their web browser, and it shows.
The new design is much cleaner, putting the focus squarely on the site you’re browsing. The status and menu bars are hidden by default, and button icons have been redesigned to occupy less space and feel more intuitive.
New features
A new feature allows you to “pin” a site you’re viewing to the task bar at the bottom of your screen. This makes the site look and function like any other program on your computer, letting you switch between sites the same way you would if you were using Word and Excel.
Notifications, like when you’re visiting a secure site with insecure content, are now much less annoying. They appear at the bottom of the browser window and don’t require you to click on them.
Downloads have also been streamlined. Instead of popping up a new window for each file you download, you’ll find them grouped together into a Download Manager. Users of Firefox, Chrome, or Safari will find this very familiar.
High performance
Internet Explorer 9 is a speed demon. Microsoft has finally caught up to, and surpassed, the performance of Google Chrome. This means that you favorite sites, like Facebook or MoneyTalksNews.com, will all feel quick and snappy. Animations look fluid instead of stuttering, and you’ll spend much less time waiting for things to happen.
Improved appearance
Sites will also look better than they used to. Internet Explorer 9 supports many of the latest web standards, allowing developers to easily put things like rounded corners and drop shadows in web pages.
Many of these design elements are already on sites you visit, but if your browser couldn’t display them, you didn’t see them. After you upgrade, you may be pleasantly surprised by the subtle, now visible changes to the sites you browse every day.
Real privacy
Previous versions of Internet Explorer have always had some kind of privacy settings, but version 9 goes above and beyond. A new feature called Tracking Protection Lists (TPL) allow you to subscribe to automatically updated lists of domains published by privacy organizations. These lists are used by Internet Explorer 9 to block the code on websites that track which pages you visit and what you click on.
To get started, check out the EasyPrivacy Tracking Protection List for Internet Explorer 9.
But there’s bad news
Internet Explorer 9 is only available on Windows Vista and Windows 7. If you’re still using Windows XP (the most common version of Windows), you’re out of luck. But if you’re looking for a good reason to upgrade your operating system, this could be it.
How to upgrade
If you’re using Internet Explorer now and you have Vista or Windows 7, there really is no excuse not to upgrade. It will take only a few minutes, and will make you a happier, safer, and more productive web user.
To upgrade, Microsoft’s built a special site, BeautyOfTheWeb.com, where you can download a copy of Internet Explorer 9 for free.
Add a Comment
Our Policy: We welcome relevant and respectful comments in order to foster healthy and informative discussions. All other comments may be removed. Comments with links are automatically held for moderation.