Microsoft compares Internet Explorer to things not being what they seem
Summer is vacation time in the northern hemisphere and grabbing consumer attention can be difficult at times, but comparing your tech product to misconceptions is certainly one of the more unusual ways to get noticed. Microsoft decided to go there today with a new music video as a part of the continuing "Browser You Loved To Hate" campaign.
The latest installment sees Microsoft team up with musician Laura Gibson to produce a new music video, titled "Things Aren't Always What They Seem".
Netflix brings HTML5 goodness to IE11 in Windows 8.1
Want more numbers thrown at you? The Microsoft beta release of its next-generation operating system, Windows 8.1, debuted yesterday and stole the news cycle. The aftermath continues today, as Netflix joins the party, announcing its latest offering to keep pace with market rivals Amazon Prime and Redbox Instant.
The company has plans to roll out video as extensions to modern browsers. "These extensions are the future of premium video on the web, since they allow playback of premium video directly in the browser without the need to install plugins", says the company.
Has Microsoft made WebGL Secure? How?
Microsoft has dropped strong clues, without saying it explicitly, that Internet Explorer 11 in Windows 8.1 will support WebGL, a DirectX-like standard for fast gaming on the web. The biggest clue came in a video posted on Vine. Others have found direct evidence in leaked builds.
It's not hard to see why Microsoft would want to support WebGL. Everyone else does. However, the company spelled out the reasons it hadn’t so far in a Security, Research and Defense blog post two years ago.
Microsoft will pay you to successfully hack Windows
Typically, a company frowns upon having its products hacked. However, Microsoft is inviting people to do just that. The tech company announces that it will be offering direct cash payments "in exchange for reporting certain types of vulnerabilities and exploitation techniques". No, Microsoft has not gone crazy (at least I hope). Companies usually offer such bounty programs for sane reasons -- security and publicity.
From a security standpoint, it makes sense for Microsoft to invite people to hack its products. When a bug or exploit is found, it can be patched. The tech company's products can only get more secure as a result. Heck, maybe Microsoft can even hire the successful hackers!
Microsoft: If you want to be green, use Internet Explorer!
The "browser you loved to hate" continues to try and find ways to push itself into prominence against the likes of Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Now, on World Environment Day, Microsoft comes up with yet another reason why you should choose Internet Explorer over its closest rivals. And this is one of the most imaginative ones yet -- energy efficiency!
Roger Capriotti, Director of Internet Explorer Marketing, tells us that, according to the Center for Sustainable Energy Systems at Fraunhofer USA, "When compared to Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer uses up to 18 percent less energy". He also adds in some fancy numbers, to boost this claim. Unsurprisingly, the report was commissioned by Microsoft.
Microsoft scales Mount Everest
Google gets a lot of attention for its Street View adventures -- it's travelled from the Great Barrier Reef to the Grand Canyon -- but Microsoft is not taking this lying down. The software giant has teamed up with David Breashears and his non-profit, GlacierWorks, to scale the heights of the Himalayas.
The IE10 team, Microsoft Research, and the developers at Pixel Lab have come together to create a multi-touch experience that allows users to explore the work of David Breashears, who has spent considerable time exploring and photographing the world's tallest mountain chain.
CCleaner now better at cleaning up after Internet Explorer 10
Piriform Ltd has announced the release of CCleaner 4.02, and while it’s flagged as a minor release, the build includes plenty of worthwhile improvements.
Internet Explorer 10 included several low-level changes in how the program stored its data, for instance, which meant CCleaner didn’t handle it quite as well as previous releases. But that situation was never going to last for long, and this build now includes improved IE10 history, cache and DOMStore cookie cleaning for better results all round.
Internet Explorer Q&A: The 'browser you loved to hate' is making a comeback
Internet Explorer’s tight integration into Windows 8, coupled with the fact that IE10 is actually pretty good, means the veteran browser is enjoying something of a resurgence these days. Humorous advertising poking fun at the browser’s past (while distancing itself from it) has also encouraged many ex-users to take a fresh look.
I chatted with Internet Explorer’s Marketing Manager Rebecca Wolff about the "Browser you loved to hate" campaign, asked her what major changes we can expect to see in IE11, and found out why embracing web standards is now a major priority for Microsoft.
Internet Explorer uses its ongoing Vine series to tease future WebGL support
The leaked builds of Windows 8.1 provided a pretty strong clue that Microsoft intends to support WebGL in Internet Explorer 11, but so far the software giant has stayed silent on such matters.
However, a new Vine clip -- part of an on-going series titled "Not your Father’s Browser" -- drops a pretty big hint that WebGL (Web Graphics Library) support is definitely on its way.
Microsoft kinda fixes IE 8 security hole
Last week, Microsoft's Internet Explorer made news, but not in the way the company should like. The "browser you loved to hate" becomes the target of a zero-day security flaw, which already is being actively exploited. Version 8 of the browser, which runs on all iterations of Windows going back to XP, is the target. Windows 8 customers are safe, as the latest operating system ships with IE 10.
The flaw allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to exploit this vulnerability and execute arbitrary code on a targeted system with the privileges of a targeted user. If the user holds elevated privileges, the attacker could completely compromise the computer targeted.
Submit your questions for the Internet Explorer team
Usually when I do a Q&A session with tech firms like IBM, The Raspberry Pi Foundation, and Vonage, I come up with the questions myself, picking topics I think will be of most interest to our readers. However, for my forthcoming interview with the Internet Explorer team I want to shake things up a bit.
So instead of compiling the list of questions myself, I’d like your help and input. If you've a burning question you'd like the IE team to answer, post it in the comments below.
‘Child of the 90s’ ad watched 28 million times, but has it changed people’s views on Internet Explorer?
Microsoft gets a lot of press coverage for its Scroogled campaign, but little of it positive. Fortunately, the software giant has other advertising strategies that people do like, one of the better ones being The Browser You Love to Hate for Internet Explorer 10.
As part of that campaign, Column Five, a creative agency in Newport Beach, California was tasked with coming up with an internet commercial and the result was a nostalgic romp through 1990s that hit 28 million views in just three months and earned it a Webby nomination (voting for that ends today).
Does Microsoft have a developer crisis?
The web is now the next great application development platform. Webkit is by far the most popular development “platform” among the web development community. Many are calling for Microsoft to ditch Trident (the rendering engine in Internet Explorer) and replace it with Webkit. I personally think that would be a huge mistake and apparently Google feels the same way or it wouldn’t be forking Webkit as the basis of its own rendering engine.
Nevertheless, the web development community is uber focused on non-Microsoft technologies for development. This presents a big problem for Microsoft and ability to hold on to its development community. I believe Microsoft can overcome this threat if by making a few key moves.
Chrome co-ops rival browsers
Now here's a head-scratcher for your coffee break. Today, Google released a new tool that allows businesses to make Chrome their default while launching legacy browsers (e.g., Internet Explorer) for apps that need them. Strange thing: Chrome is outdated every 12 weeks.
As a marketing ploy to move IT organizations that have applications demanding some version of IE, Google exacts brilliance. But the Legacy Browser Support add-on defies one of the major reasons many businesses prefer Internet Explorer: Stable releases for long periods.
Internet Explorer 'Catching Fire' with The Hunger Games
Later this year, November 22nd to be exact, part two of The Hunger Games, titled The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, will hit the big screen. Microsoft's Internet Explorer team has partnered with Lionsgate to set up a new IE-optimized website for the sequel to the blockbuster movie with the hope of not only getting you excited about the film but also about the "browser you loved to hate".
The Hunger Games Explorer launches on the heels of the MTV Movie Awards which premiered the trailer. Microsoft's Roger Capriotti says "with the global launch of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire trailer, fans can now visit The Hunger Games Explorer to be immersed in this world, track every development of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, including tweets, exclusive images and videos, and then share their thoughts and excitement with others around the world creating a global conversation".
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