Windows 7: Internet Explorer 10 Now Available

Microsoft has finally released the latest version of its very own web browser, Internet Explorer 10, for its still-popular Windows 7 operating system (OS). The browser has been available for Windows 8 since that OS launched late last year.

Releasing Internet Explorer 10 (IE10) as a Windows 8 exclusive was part of an attempt by Microsoft to promote its newest OS. However, with more than 700 million people using Windows 7, the idea of shirking an IE10 release seemed ludicrous.

Internet Explorer 10 brings a number of important technical advancements to the table. For one, it offers wider support for the HTML 5 web standard, which is useful because many developers love working with that particular programming language.

IE10: Wider Support for HTML 5

In fact, IE10 offers an estimated 60 per cent more HTML 5 capabilities than its predecessor.

"Developers can take advantage of these capabilities and build increasingly rich websites," noted Microsoft's Internet Explorer general manager, Ryan Gavin.

"But just as importantly, [there's a] confidence level that they have knowing that they can write it once and it's really going to work across all modern browsers." (Source: pcmag.com)

Internet Explorer 10 is also considered much faster than its predecessor, IE9, and it's designed to do a better job of protecting the privacy of its users.

'Do Not Track' Automatically Enabled

Importantly, at this moment Internet Explorer 10 is the only web browser to have an automatically-enabled 'Do Not Track' feature.

The implementation of that feature, which is designed to automatically block sites from tracking a user's browsing activity, has angered Internet advertisers. However, it's been hailed as a major step forward by Internet privacy protection groups.

(Mozilla, it should be noted, has recently announced that upcoming versions of its Firefox browser will automatically block all third-party tracking cookies.)

Internet Explorer 10 is available for Windows 7 right now and can be downloaded by visiting the Microsoft.com website.

Unfortunately, Microsoft does not appear to have plans to bring IE10 to Windows Vista or Windows XP. (Source: computerworld.com)