Earlier today a friend was kind enough to post my thoughts here on the just released Internet Explorer 9 Preview 2.
As many of you know, I take a lot of pride in what appears here and the previous post needs to be revisited.
A short time ago, I re-tested Microsoft's preview on a box with significantly more system resources.
In many ways, it IS impressive and certainly a step in the right direction. I honestly missed some of the features on the first run, and it is, in some ways, already actually better than IE8.
Some thoughts for all of us to ponder ...
1) Do we want to revisit the IE / Netscape standards wars ... ? I think not.
2) Is Adobe's Flash dead? No chance.
3) Will Google's Chrome continue to grab market share? For now, positively.
4) Is Firefox headed for trouble? Doubtful. Should Google pull their funding (which is also doubtful), someone will move right in ... IE: Microsoft, maybe IBM or even another company that absolutely nobody expects (Think Mass-Media?? ... Comcast??).
The convergence is here. Some will use their game consoles .. others PCs or Macs ... and still others, iPads, Mobile, and other devices. All will output to small, medium or large screens depending on the purpose and/or entertainment. The Internet will drive them but client software will remain alive and well ... for a long time.
The biggest threat to all of this is website spam and hackers. A coordinated effort to help thwart attacks on the Internet and derail malware, by the entire industry (or as the case may be ... industries) is needed NOW.
The players need to work together, in harmony, to retain the sanctity of the Internet. Here in the US ... and around the world.
Charlie