Microsoft is taking a page out of Google’s play book and launching a new “Developer Channel” for Internet Explorer. Now developers and anyone else itching for new features in the web browser (as well as potential bugs) can try out upcoming features before they’re available to the general public.
IE Developer Channel is available for Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 SP1 and you can download and install it without affecting your existing Internet Explorer 11 settings. The two browsers can be installed alongside one another.
The new browser is available for download from devchannel.modern.ie.
As of June 16th, here are some of the things you can do with IE Developer Channel that you can’t yet do with IE11:
- Use an Xbox controller to play select web games using the new GamePad API
- Access new F12 developer tools
- Use WebDriver for automated tests.
Microsoft says the browser also features improvements in WebGL performance.
I like how Internet Explorer is still around. It must’ve already lost too many users years ago and I don’t think doing any of this will get anybody back. That icon gives me the shudders now.
I clicked a link in-program and it brought up IE…. I cringed, exited, and stop caring that I had to go to the link.