MicroSoft Internet Explorer 9

Microsoft’s IE9 Copies Google’s Chrome & Mozilla’s Firefox

By On 02/06/2011 · 3 Comments · In Rants

Internet Explorer 9 is Finally a Useful Experience

I’ve been working on a new website and decided to download the new Internet Explorer 9 Beta browser to see if it supports CSS3 border-radius code (it does).  I was struck by how blatantly Microsoft ripped off Google Chrome, a browser I’ve been using since the end of 2008.  This is okay with me, because I love Chrome – but if I was Google’s Chrome browser department, I’d probably be upset.  That said, I’ll show some examples below of the similarities between the new IE9-Beta with Chrome & Firefox.

IE9-Beta’s Similarities with Chrome & Firefox:

  • Sleek look with no Menu Bar, Status Bar, Bookmarks Bar, etc… as a default setting (like Chrome).
  • Address Bar doubles as a search engine (like Chrome).
  • The Icons are nearly identical between IE9 and Chrome – the little house (home), the star (bookmark), the refresh arrow…  Granted, all three browsers have the same icons now, but IE used to be very different in this aspect.
  • When you open a new tab on IE9′s tabbed browsing (by default) you go to a page with your 8 most visited sites shown nearly identically to the way Chrome lays them out.
  • Maybe I’m getting petty here, but the larger “back” button, smaller “front” (?) button are similar to Firefox’s browser.
IE-9-Beta-1

IE-9-Beta-1

Mozilla-Firefox

Mozilla-Firefox

IE-9-Beta-2

IE-9-Beta-2

Google-Chrome

Google-Chrome

IE-9-Beta-3

IE-9-Beta-3

Google-Chrome-2

Google-Chrome-2

They say impersonation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Either way, I like the new IE9, because I like Google Chrome.  If anything, Firefox is the browser that needs to catch up with Chrome and IE to render CSS better (as of the time of this writing).  I’m guessing Microsoft got complacent after decimating Netscape and years of 90% browser market share, but now that IE has lost half of its users to the competition (see chart below, from Wikipedia), the IE team seem to have finally awaken… and decided that copying what’s working in the marketplace (Chrome) is the fastest way to getting back into the browser race.

Web_browser_usage_share-Jan-2011

Web_browser_usage_share-Jan-2011

I’m Still Going to Use Chrome

There’s still features on IE9 that I find annoying, and some that I use and find missing on IE9.  What do you think?

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  • Zacharry Williams

    I just happened across your site because I was searching to see if it was just me, or if IE9 really did copy its style. Guess it isn't just me ^_^;

    I understand that they needed to get back in the game, but blatent theivery is downright dirty.

    On a side note, the address(search) bar in IE9 reminds me of Apple's IOS browser. Just another notation of copying

    With the images you posted, I also realized how there isn't much difference between modern browsers' containers anymore. That is unless you're using safari, which means your non-macOS interface is shit.

  • http://www.krisbunda.com admin

    Yeah, I was really surprised by it. But Microsoft has a history of creating something amazing and new… and then copying competitors to improve their products (didn't Apple's windows ideas get copied when they didn't see fit to copyright their OS adequately?)

    So even though I think it's nasty to copy, at least they've got a browser that I can use. I like Chrome, but IE9 is improved for usability, and they're a lot better at adhering to web standards (getting CSS shadows and rounded corners to show up in previous IEs was more trouble than worth).

  • Allensolea

    Chrome’s still a primry option as it features too many advantages. Chrome is much easier to install, the whole mechanism is simple and vivid. I’ve been struggling to reinstall ie 9 after a problem occured – missing ie9 icon , which is identified by MS a knotty issue. I finally chose to reinstall the whole windows 7.  

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