Back in August 16, 1995, Microsoft released the very first version of Internet Explorer, which was considered a premium paid add-on to Windows 95.
Nearly 20 years later IE is on its 11th and final iteration. With the imminent release of Windows 10 upon us, Microsoft has announced the replacement of IE, Spartan Browser.
So, what does this mean for us as designers and developers? Spartan provides a more dependable, and discoverable experience with forward thinking features including the ability to annotate on web pages, a distraction-free reading experience, and integration of Cortana for finding and doing tasks online quicker.
A new rendering engine powers Spartan that Windows 10 already has built into the operating system. While this new rendering engine is great in theory, what does that mean for all previous web applications that were built to support all the way back to IE7? Microsoft has thought through the ins and outs with Spartan, as they should if it is going to successfully replace the infamous Internet Explorer. Spartan is designed to implement a dual-engine approach, where it can intelligently switch between the new modern rendering engine and Trident; the older IE engine.
In terms of design and development, Spartan will allow designers and developers to collaborate together on a whole new level. This will be through the ability to annotate and share web pages with others. This feature can work old school with a mouse and keyboard, or on a Microsoft surface tablet where a user can use their finger or stylus to markup a web page.
Furthermore, Microsoft is finally ready to play nicely with what were once unknown experimental CSS, HTML, and debugging techniques and languages. For instance CSS3 transform preserve-3D support, CSS interaction media queries that permit different styles contingent on whether the page is controlled using touch or mouse, F12 Developer Tool updates incorporating an innovative network analyzer, source map support, asynchronous call stacks, improved search, and HTML and CSS pretty printing.
IE is, by most counts, the second most popular browser in use today. Unfortunately as it stands now, this means that developers are forced to use a number of hacks and workarounds to ensure a site looks and acts the same as it does in other, more standard friendly browsers. With users being able to upgrade straight from Windows 7 to Windows 10, as well as Windows XP’s recent end of support prompting people to update, Spartan will hopefully grab a majority of current IE users. This would mean an end to extra days of testing and bug fixes for a single browser.
In light of the hype around Windows 10 and Spartan Browser, Microsoft has launched rethinkie.com to showcase how Microsoft has spent the past couple of years building web projects to show off the power of the modern web. The idea is that with the right code, the line between offline and online application is quickly blurred as modern web standards allow extraordinary applications to be fashioned and executed from within the web browser.