TipAdept Dot Com

Microsoft has invited developers to test-drive Internet Explorer 9. The software behemoth on Tuesday released an early version of its new browser to developers during the MIX10 event in Las Vegas.

With more competition from other browsers, including Google's Chrome, Apple's Safari, Opera and Mozilla's Firefox, Microsoft wants to make sure its browser remains on top. The first build of IE9 is a look at what the company has done.

In this first build, Microsoft has included GPU-powered HTML5 features and support along with built-in developer tools. XML formats for scalable vector graphics (SVG) have been included despite Microsoft's preference for its own Silverlight plug-in. Several familiar features, such as the address bar and InPrivate browsing, have been excluded from the test version of IE9.

Testing Begins

Developers were encouraged to test the browser and evaluate updates in the code every eight weeks until the beta release of IE9. People can test the browser by accessing its platform preview, according to Microsoft. The company has also created a test-drive web site to allow users to view a set of web pages and applications with IE9's new features and enhancements.

"We want the developer community to have an earlier hands-on experience with the progress we're making on the IE platform," said Dean Hachamovitch, general manager of Internet Explorer, in a blog post. "The platform preview, and the feedback loop it is a part of, makes a major change from previous IE releases."

The core technologies Hachamovitch is asking for feedback on are HTML5, Cascading Style Sheets 3 (CSS3), Document Object Model (DOM), and SVG.

Developers have wasted no time getting behind the driver's seat of the early version of IE9. And several have already started offering feedback.

The preview scored 578 out of 578 on the CSS3 selectors test, according to one published report.

One question on...

It's not only Julius Caesar who should take note of the Ides of March. So should every business with a dot-com address, since that was the date of the first dot-com address -- 25 years ago Monday.

On that date in 1985, a Cambridge, Mass., company named Symbolics became the first to register a dot-com domain. But the Internet at that time was still primarily a network devoted to research and academic use, and Symbolics' move didn't exactly start a land rush. By the end of the year, only five other companies had dot-com addresses, and it was nearly two years before there were a hundred.

A Million by 1997

Flash forward to 1997, just as the Internet was beginning its phenomenal rise, when one million dot-coms had been registered. Today, there are about 80 million dot-com sites.

Now with the Federal Communications Commission on the verge of declaring the broadband Internet as the main communications medium for the United States -- surpassing even telephone and broadcast TV -- dot-com sites seem to be as commonplace as street addresses.

In fact, according to news reports, these days more than 660,000 dot-coms are registered every month. Symbolics may have been the first, but today even pizza parlors have dot-com addresses.

According to a report by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, dot-coms now account for about $400 billion in annual economic activity, and that will likely grow to about $950 billion in annual revenue by 2020.

And online advertising is on the verge of surpassing print-based ads this year. A survey of 1,000 advertisers by the research firm Outsell projected online ad spending this year at $120 billion, compared to about $111 billion for print-based ads in newspapers and magazines.

Project Apollo

As the Internet continues its growth, key organizations are gearing up for the next generation. VeriSign, a...

Microsoft isn't going to let Apple have all the app-store fun. On Monday, the software giant announced more details about Windows Phone 7 Series applications in its online store as it moves to get third-party developers excited about the new platform.

The announcement, made at the MIX10 developers' conference in Las Vegas, didn't specify which apps will be offered for the successor to the current Windows Mobile operating system, or the price ranges. But the company said its Silverlight multimedia technology, a competitor to Adobe Systems' Flash and AIR technologies, will be the basis for "rich Internet application" development. Flash, ubiquitous on the web, is supported on a wide variety of mobile devices -- with the notable exception being Apple's iPhone and iPad.

XNA Support

Microsoft also said Windows Phone 7 supports XNA programming tools for game development. A software development kit for Phone 7 application development was released last week.

While virtually all mobile platforms now have app stores, Microsoft is taking a few cues from Apple. For instance, the company said all Phone 7 apps in the Windows Marketplace for Mobile store must be approved first by Microsoft, as Apple requires for its App Store.

However, Microsoft has told news media it will make decisions about applications more expeditiously than Apple, which should please developers. It also said that trial versions of applications will be required, so customers can try before buying.

The Windows Phone 7 Series platform was unveiled in mid-February at the World Mobile Congress. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made the presentation, which the company touted as bringing together for the first time Xbox LIVE games and the Zune music and video experience on a mobile phone. Devices based on the platform are expected to be on the market by the Christmas holiday season.

Phone 7 as a Gaming Platform

Microsoft has...