Metro Internet Explorer 10 to be Plug-in Free
by Andrew Cunningham on September 15, 2011 11:00 AM ESTWhen using the browser's Metro interface, Internet Explorer 10 will be completely plug-in free, says Microsoft's Dean Hachamovitch on the Building Windows 8 blog. The new browser will depend largely on HTML5 to serve ads, videos, and other traditionally plug-in-dependent content, which is in line with Apple's current strategy on the iPad. Also similarly, Hachamovitch cites "battery life as well as security, reliability, and privacy" as driving reasons to keep IE10 plug-in free.
This decision will most prominently affect Adobe's Flash, which is installed on the vast majority of desktop and laptop computers today and still drives much interactive Web content. In the face of increased competition from HTML5, Adobe has been buffing up both the Flash plug-in and its Flash development tools in recent months - Flash 11, currently available as a release candidate, brings 64-bit and 3D support to the plug-in, while the company is also working on Flash to HTML5 conversion tools. Adobe Edge, a new product currently in a preview state, will also be available to developers looking to replace Flash.
Microsoft's decision to go without plug-ins in its touch interface is an important one, but that doesn't mean they're completely going away - the non-Metro desktop version of IE 10 will still support plug-ins just as the browser currently does. This is consistent Windows 8's "no compromise" design philosophy - bring in the new without completely throwing out the old.
Source: Building Windows 8 Blog
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dagamer34 - Thursday, September 15, 2011 - link
I'm glad Microsoft is doing all the right things to make sure battery life is maximized:1) Apps don't run in the background
2) No plugins in Metro
3) System tries to get to a low power state as fast as possible
4) Requests to use WiFi/3G radios are coalesed so they are powered down more frequently
5) Push notifications service
All good signs they are quite serious about bringing the world into the next revolution in PC computing.
xdrol - Thursday, September 15, 2011 - link
I fail to see why plugins are bad for battery. AdBlock/NoScript makes websites slimmer. Flash plays videos using less power than HTML5. RSS and notification plugins allows me to skip the main page of a website and jump to the article I need, so I download and display less ultimately.DocJones - Thursday, September 15, 2011 - link
I agree I see no reason not to support plugins like AdBlock or NoScript. Shouldn't the effect on battery life by my choice as the consumer and not forced on me by the vendor? This is one of the things I hate most about Apple. If MS is going to simply clone Apple's business model... why not just choose Apple?ViRGE - Thursday, September 15, 2011 - link
Technically speaking, AdBlock/NoScript are add-ons, not plugins/extensions. The difference is important, because add-ons are sandboxed scripts with limited functionality; plugins are for all intents and purposes applications. This makes plugins very capable because they have near-to-full OS access, but it's also what makes them such a big security vulnerability.In any case you can have one without the other. Mozilla could throw out extensions while still keeping add-ons.
name99 - Thursday, September 15, 2011 - link
Well the hater crowd committed to "flash good no matter what" a year ago, and I guess they have to stick to that position now, no matter what experience, common sense, and other companies say...Just be aware, the longer you continue defending an indefensible position, the more you look like a fool.
FATCamaro - Thursday, September 15, 2011 - link
This wasn't the reaction you had when Steve Jobs killed Flash last year I bet....steven75 - Thursday, September 15, 2011 - link
Every single thing in that list is something Apple already did a few years ago.That doesn't mean it's not the best path for Microsoft, though I think their claim of "no compromises" is already proving to be false as judged by this article alone.
solipsism - Thursday, September 15, 2011 - link
Is it just me or does that look like Mac OS X "Lion"'s Mission Control.Synaesthesia - Thursday, September 15, 2011 - link
It's just you. Looks kinda like Opera's tab thumbnails to me.inighthawki - Thursday, September 15, 2011 - link
I'm not sure I see even a remote similarity between the two.