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Microsoft Previews IE9 — HTML5, SVG, Fast JS
suraj.sun sends this excerpt from CNET on Microsoft's preview of IE9 in Las Vegas just now. "At its Mix 10 conference Tuesday, Microsoft gave programmers, Web developers, and the world at large a taste of things to come with its Web browser. Specifically, Microsoft released what it's calling the Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview, a prototype designed to show off the company's effort to improve how the browser deals with the Web as it exists today and, as important, to add support for new Web technologies that are coming right now. Coming in the new version is support for new Web standards including plug-in-free video; better performance with graphics, text, and JavaSript by taking advantage of modern computing hardware. One big change in the JavaScript engine Hachamovitch is proud of is its multicore support. As soon as a Web page is loaded, Chakra assigns a processing core to the task of compiling JavaScript in the background into fast code written in the native language of the computer's processor." Microsoft didn't say what codec they were using for the HTML5 video demo, but the Technologizer says it's H.264.
JavaSript? I thought Microsoft would have learnt from Active X's failings that propriety technologies don't catch on too well.
No, you've missed my point: They're excusing something that's part of the test. Nowhere else do they explain away the current score or what's missing. The text on the page seems to give the impression the pause is acceptable or 'as intended'. But it's not - it has failed ACID.
IE9 won't have Adblock, so who cares?
I laugh at Microsoft being forced to improve its support of a technology that can only
help its competitors more than itself. Really, better Javascript support is not core to MS
product lines in any way, and can only help trying to build a Web-centric app world
(e.g. Google Office).
But I'm sure they won't cede the future to others that easily.
don't be a spelling loser
Microsoft has H.264 licensed, so it has nothing to worry about on that front. For Theora, while it is claimed that it is patent-free, it's not conclusively proven, so it's a potential minefield for anyone choosing to implement it.
When the choice is between paying now to license H.264, and possibly (but unlikely) paying later for using Theora, choosing Theora may be reasonable. But when you already own a license to H.264, well...