4 April 2015

Windows kills Internet Explorer with "Project Spartan"



Earlier this year at the Microsoft Windows 10 event, the software giant unveiled what consumers can expect from Windows 10. We had a number of features unveiled: Cortana (the virtual assistant), HoloLens glasses (Holographic Virtual Reality, which we will discuss later), a lot of visual changes and integration features which you can find here. For this post we will be discussing "Project Spartan", the browser billed to replace Internet Explorer.

Screenshot of notes and highlighted sentences on a webpage
 Copyright: Windows

If you are part of my generation, then Internet Explorer most likely has a huge imprint on your "digital" history. It has been the default Windows browser for so long and after going through so many iterations, Microsoft finally feels the need to re-brand and relaunch their browser offering (important lesson for your business). The new browser, dubbed "Project Spartan" (because an actual name has not been chosen), and in fact the entire Windows 10 offering, is designed for the age we are now: touch screen devices and mobile multi-device folks (you gotta evolve with your market!). Briefly, the new browser, as it appears in the public preview build, has note-taking features which allows you to actually make notes on the webpage you are viewing. It is very clean and trim, it has a reading mode feature that allows you to read without distraction and a host of others you can find here.   

The takeaway
 The Internet Explorer (IE) has been under fierce competition lately from other browsers. After suffering a major brand damage from the notorious security flaws of IE 6, I think Microsoft feels its the right time to re-brand their browser offering and keep it up-to-date with the current consumer preference. This also keys in with the launch of what Microsoft is pushing as a radically redesigned operating system, Windows 10.  It remains to be seen if "Project Spartan" and indeed Windows 10 will see massive consumer adoption.
   

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