We earlier told you that developers at Microsoft, working at Windows 10 are also working at an entirely new web browser- which is not an extension/upgrade of IE9. (Thank god) Of course, if you do use IE, it will remain as an option.

The new web browser is codenamed Spartan (heavy hitting title, that), and will come with loaded features not found on any other browser. A preview of Windows 10 will be held on Jan 21, and Spartan is expected to make an appearance.

Now, certain fresh Spartan features have been leaked, and no matter how this new browser performs against Chrome or Firefox, it definitely is a welcome successor to Microsoft’s veteran IE.

Prime features will include- Cortana, the intelligent personal phone assistant. You can tell your browser to “Go to Twitter” or “Book seats” for a play- data that used to go in the traditional address bar. It will  replace every instance of the current Bing methods in Internet Explorer. Next comes the incredibly cool and useful digital inking support- you can scribble on a webpage with a stylus and send the modifications to anyone you need to. It will be powered by Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud. The recipient can access it with any browser they’re using, across multiple platforms. Edits can be shared among users within a group.

All the clutter you see in IEs, that are more of a distraction than help ? Gone. Spartan is expected to look more, well mess free, resembling Chrome or Firefox. Alleged screenshots of the browser are floating around online, but a confirmed visual of the final thing is not seen as of yet- it is still evolving from a design standpoint, although the shots of the early versions are said to be accurate. You will be able to group tabs together, arrange them into sections like ‘Work’ or ‘Business’- so you can see many links at once, say compare holiday destinations without switching tabs. It will also support browser extensions and add-ons. IE did not have this feature.

Spartan is going be to be same across all devices- your PCs, phones and tablets. It will be a Windows Store App- updates of the browser will be downloadable, so if Spartan creates waves, people will be drawn towards Windows Store.  One version of Spartan will be available in the Store as a desktop app, and another as a modern app for tablets and phones. The browser will use the Trident rendering engine(to help with site compatibility) and the Chakra JavaScript engine.

Sure does sound great- Spartan should go a long way in warding of the jinx IE has been carrying around for Microsoft.


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