Let's start with the fantastic. The new Internet Explorer 9 is light years ahead of any browser that Microsoft has ever put out. It's so good that for the first time in years I actually stopped using an alternate browser (I currently use Chrome, but used Firefox before Chrome).
Being a performance guy I can appreciate what GPU computing can do for us. Internet Explorer 9 is fast, it uses the GPU to enhance the performance of "future websites" - and the difference is amazing. I made a 2.5 minute video that explains the difference that GPU computing provides, I'm sure you too will appreciate it once you see it.
What about the Layout?
Internet Explore 9 has tabs, it integrates well into Windows 7 and it takes up less operating resources than Chrome when sitting idle. Syncing bookmarks with Chrome is seamless but you can do the same with IE if you download Microsoft Sync from the Windows Live Essentials Beta.
Microsoft even changed the browser window "so your websites can shine", as Microsoft puts it. Google Chrome "made your websites shine" the day Chrome was launched, but at least Microsoft is understanding what it takes to be successful.
If you look at the video below, you'll see Google Chrome on the left with Internet Explorer 9 on the right. Internet Explorer tries to integrate tabs with your address bar and nothing can be moved around or re-sized.
For some reason all of the information is jammed on one line. The problem is the browser fails miserably for people like me who surf more than one site at a time (am I really the only one?).
When you start opening up more tabs it gets cluttered at the top and you have no idea which tab leads to which site. It gets confusing, and it's a real shame considering how amazingly fast and clean the entire experience is.
Microsoft, I know you're listening. You have a made a valiant effort to win back the hearts and minds of influencer's, developers, and early adopters who can help evangelize your product. Unfortunately the layout isn't working ... If you agree then you should make the address bar movable to the actual tab just like Google did with Chrome. I believe Microsoft is onto something here, they just need to fundamentally change the way they structure a window, just like Google did.
It seems Google thought of everything when they launched Chrome in January of 2009, but Microsoft is hot on their heels, and this could be the beginning of a turning point.
