The coming of Windows 10 is being heralded as “One product family, One platform and One store.” But, according to reports. the Web surfing experience being offered to the 1.3 billlion people who run Windows will be available in the new OS, not via one browser, but two: the legacy Internet Explorer and a new browser code-named Spartan
According to The Verge, Internet Explorer will use the same “dual rendering engines” as Spartan, but it will be positioned solely as a legacy resource. “We recognize some enterprises have legacy web sites that use older technologies designed only for Internet Explorer, such as custom ActiveX controls and Browser Helper Objects,” says Jason Weber, program manager of Internet Explorer. “For these users, Internet Explorer will also be available on Windows 10.”
The new Spartan browser will include a host of new features not found in rival browsers.
Chief among the plans for Spartan is new inking support that allows Windows 10 users to annotate a web page with a stylus and send the notes and annotations to a friend or colleague. The web note service will be powered by Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud storage, meaning notes will be stored on a copy of a web page that can be accessed by any browser across multiple platforms. As annotations are shared, multiple users can doodle on a web page and share edits and annotations between groups.
A second major feature for Spartan will be the integration of Microsoft’s Cortana digital assistant. Microsoft is planning to use Cortana to surface information on flights, hotel bookings, package tracking, and other data within the traditional address bar. If you use Cortana to track a particular flight and start to search for “American Airlines” in the browser address bar, it will automatically display tracked flights and allow Spartan users to view the status of the flight directly. You’ll also be able to access Cortana search directly from the new tab interface in Spartan. Cortana integration in the Spartan browser is planned to replace every instance of the existing Bing methods in Internet Explorer.
Other features include a new way to group tabs together to declutter the occasionally messy interface of multiple browser tabs. Spartan will allow users to group tabs however they want, making it easier, for example, to split up personal tabs from work ones. Microsoft also originally planned to allow Spartan to support custom themes, but we understand the company has dropped this for the final new browser in Windows 10. Such support may arrive in future update
The Windows 10 download will be free for customers who are currently running Windows 7 or later versions, including Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1. But the download will only last for the first year of its release. [24×7]
