Internet Explorer Vs Spartan: Here is how Microsoft’s new browser will kill the old one.
The rumors are out: Microsoft’s new browser, code-named “Spartan” will be released as a “plus one” to Internet Explorer. Sources close to Microsoft have leaked bits and pieces of information about Spartan, suggesting that it will be released in multiple versions for different platforms.
This notion, if anywhere close to being accurate, seems in conflict with everything we know about Windows 10, as an operating system whose sum of its parts is supposed to work efficiently, and agnostically, across all devices. Yet, we are still in the realm of speculation.
The new browser will also feature a user experience closer to Google Chrome and Firefox.
The attempt is noble, as Microsoft Internet Explorer, while once relevant, has suffered from harsh criticism, mostly due to its perceived system-wide intrusiveness and excessive integration within Windows. While this may no longer be true, Internet Explorer’s market share has dropped substantially, especially since the inception of Google Chrome, and the mobile revolution has been playing a role in pushing Microsoft’s flagship browser down to a mere 2% mobile market share.
Part of Spartan’s experience will be the introduction of extensions and plugins similar to Chrome, for which we could assume there might be a section of the Microsoft App Store, in the works.
Two browsers? Not for long.
With the release of Windows 10, a general-purpose theory could be made that Microsoft’s efforts to re-brand itself could be far bigger, and radical than predicted so far, and we may very well be on our way to discover a completely different Microsoft, as early as the first quarter of 2015.
Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 will be present, but according to reports, it will be part of Windows 10 only for backward compatibility. This is clearly an experimental process that could involve an eventual future phasing out, in favor of the new browser, which is built on Microsoft’s Chakra JavaScript engine and Microsoft’s Trident rendering engine. By the same train of thought, we could deduce Internet Explorer 11 will serve merely as training wheels, until Spartan is stable and reliable enough for full-time duties.
What does it mean to web developers?
Spartan’s promises to keep consistent standards as those followed by Google Chrome and Firefox. By such token, developers of web applications could find greater support for the latest HTML5 and CSS3 standards, and more widespread as Windows 10 gains traction.