Microsoft: IE9 Won't Support Windows XP, Period, Sent a strong message involves Web video

Windows XP users will not be able to run the final version of Internet Explorer 9, according to Microsoft executives, cutting out a decade-old, yet still popular operating system.

In fact, the Windows IE9 Platform Preview, as well as the final version, won't run on anything but the latest Microsoft operating systems. Users trying to run the preview code on an XP system will receive the following dialogue box: "Windows Internet Explorer Platform Preview does not support any operating system earlier than Windows Vista SP2."

And of course, don't even think about versions for non-Windows operating systems. IE General Manager Dean Hachamovitch told us that Mac and Linux versions weren't currently in the company's plans.

The reason IE9 doesn't work in XP is that it uses the Direct2D feature of DirectX when accessing the graphics hardware to accelerate image creation and drawing. Direct2D was introduced in Windows 7, but then added to Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 R2. But not to WIndows XP.

The IE9 team about their plans for the legacy OS, they confirmed that XP was not in the cards.

NOTE: Windows XP Users can use Firefox, Opera, & Chrome as my primary, secondary browsers.

Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview release on Tuesday sent a strong message to Web programmers that a host of standards will become safer to use. But in the case of one standard, Web video, Microsoft arguably pushed one controversial impasse deeper into gridlock.

The standard in question involves Web video that doesn't require a plug-in such as Adobe Systems' Flash or Microsoft's Silverlight. It's one of the big elements of HTML5--the Hypertext Markup Language standard now under development and aiming to expand the abilities of Web pages and Web applications.

The rough version of IE9 that Microsoft demonstrated includes HTML5 video encoded with a particular technology called H.264. Apple's Safari also supports this encoding and decoding technology, or codec.

But Mozilla is adamantly opposed to open-source-unfriendly H.264, supporting the rival Ogg Theora codec instead, and Opera is in that camp with its new version 10.5. Google's Chrome supports both, tying the score at Ogg Theora 3, H.264 3.

It's no surprise Microsoft signed up for H.264. It owns many of the patents in the technology, which is licensed on behalf of Microsoft and several other patent holders by a group called the MPEG LA. And Microsoft of course isn't afraid of proprietary technology. H.264 support is included in Windows 7. Finally, H.264 by most accounts provides superior quality than Ogg Theora.

Source: CNET NEWS /  PC Magazine