With the beta of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 9 scheduled for release on Sept. 15, a new document from Microsoft Russia has surfaced that indicates the user interface and other details. The Russian-language document, called 5 New Opportunities IE9, was online only briefly, although it’s currently available in the Bing search cache.
The company has released information about IE9 several times in the last six months, which included some of the upcoming capabilities but little about the user interface. The Microsoft Russia document features a screenshot of a very simple screen design, with only a handful of menu items at the very top and bottom of the screen. The document touts the new browser’s support for HTML5, focus on the web, increased productivity, and taskbar-based site icons.
‘Focus on Web’
The inclusion of “focus on web” refers to the avoidance of too many navigational elements, leaving more visible space for sites.
“The user now sees only what is necessary for navigation,” the document said. In the document’s screenshot, the address bar, search bar, and toolbar are in one row.
In Microsoft’s previous information releases, and in the Microsoft Russia document, the clear enthusiasm for HTML5 and other standards is, in part, due to the performance boost the browser is expected to get from hardware. For instance, the Russian document mentions playback of embedded video and audio content — including high-definition — without plug-ins or other software, enabled by hardware support for HTML5 and related standards.
According to the document, Windows users will have the ability to go to a site directly from the Windows taskbar without opening IE9. Dragging a site to the taskbar will create an icon in the taskbar. Essentially, the focus is on sites, not the browser, and some observers are comparing this feature to application mode in Google’s Chrome browser. Only…