Microsoft next year will change its automated update process for the Internet Explorer (IE) Web browser to push out the latest version of the browser for XP, Vista and Windows 7 without the notification-style install prompt presented to the end user today.

I got a guided tour of Microsoft's new IE9 browser here at SWSW, and saw several features that I believe raise the bar for web browsers.

Microsoft's new Internet Explorer 9 beta is enjoying favorable reviews, but what impact will it have on the PC market? IE has dominated the desktop browser landscape for years -- its share topped 90 per cent not long ago -- but upstart competitors, most notably Google Chrome, continue to nibble away at IE's massive slice of the global browser pie.

Microsoft came under fire from some of its rivals on Wednesday for its decision not to offer Internet Explorer 9 -- and hence support for the upcoming HTML 5 standard -- to users of its older Windows XP operating system.

Microsoft today released a platform preview of Internet Explorer 9. This isn't an IE9 beta, mind you; it doesn't have the features you'd expect in a browser. It doesn't even have an address bar for that matter. Instead, the IE9 Platform Preview serves as a sneak peek at some of the new Web technologies and standards that Microsoft is working on building into its flagship browser.

Potentially toughening the competitive landscape for its own Silverlight rich Internet application platform, Microsoft will expand support for the HTML5 specification in its Internet Explorer 9 browser, under a plan revealed Tuesday.

Microsoft's next browser, Internet Explorer 9 (IE9), will offload image and text rendering chores to the PC's graphic processor, one way the company plans to increase the browser's overall performance, according to the firm's top IE manager.