Just like what happened with its previous version, Internet Explorer 11 is now available on Windows 7 a few months after its exclusive launch for the recent Windows 8.1. With a flashy advertising campaign that aims to bolster users’ confidence in the Microsoft browser, its principal advantages lie in its much lower consumption of system resources, the inclusion (finally) of the standard graphics API WebGL, and new tools for developers. Is it worth your time to give it a chance?
Performance
This new version is available in 95 languages with a 32- and 64-bit version. After you install it and restart your machine you’ll find a browser that’s identical to its predecessors, at least in appearance. But when it comes time to use it you’ll see a marked improvement in browsing speed, up to 30% according to Microsoft itself. This is possible thanks to improvements in the Javascript engine and the inclusion—albeit tardy, given that it’s already been used for some time now in all the leading browsers—of the rendering engine WebGL.
New features
This version boasts lots of novelties at the user level. The new favorites manager allows you to anchor your favorites on your home screen, as well as list and launch them from within the application bar itself. The limit on the number of open tabs to 10 has been removed, so now you keep as many open as your system memory will support. In addition, the other big improvement that had been missing in the browser is the capability to synch your login details and configuration settings on different machines.
With regards to its use by developers, there is now a complete set of support tools that run the gamut from a code editor and viewer with which you can make changes in real time (together with an autocomplete system for HTML, CSS, and JavaScript) to a comprehensive tool to analyze performance and page memory use. It also includes a page viewer to emulate a page’s appearance at your desired resolution.
So, should you give it a go?
Security and speed problems in earlier versions have been an albatross around Internet Explorer’s neck and have been taking their toll for too many years already. Now, the results of various performance tests have restored the browser to its rightful place. The improvements can be clearly seen, but Microsoft is shoring up these results with an ambitious ad campaign. Without getting into too much detail, its Singapore division has launched the following anime short at the Anime Festival Asia.
Download Internet Explorer 11 on Uptodown
http://internet-explorer-11-windows-7.en.uptodown.com/
