Internet Explorer 9!! HTML5 Video, Faster than Chrome, and much more…

Microsoft showed off hardware-accelerated HTML5 at the MIX10 keynote, and it's  impressive. Main points:

• Full-screen, HD-encoded video on netbooks -- The keynote highlighted the dropped frames in Chrome, while IE9 rendered it fine -- made possible by the hardware decoder on the netbook.
• Multiple HTML5 videos on one page? -- Then they scroll the page down... and there are two HTML5 videos playing full-screen, on the same document! Using only half the CPU (while Chrome used 100%). Can't see a reason you'd have two full-screen videos on the same page, but it leads into...
• A richer, more animated Web -- the demo showed off a video carousel. Rather than the four icons at the top of the Download Squad page, you might see a carousel that rotates. Done entirely in HTML5; no Flash or Silverlight required.

The IE9 keynote has finished. Microsoft says they will be releasing a new Developer Preview in every 8 weeks.

Internet Explorer 9, Faster & More Developer Friendly

A lot has happened since IE8: the downfall of IE6 and 7; the emergence of Chrome; and the maturity of Firefox. Internet Explorer has lost a large share of the browser market in the last two years, to both Chrome and Firefox.That's a process they want to reverse.
  

With Internet Explorer 9, Microsoft will attempt to reclaim its long-established lead -- and looking at the details that have just been published, it might just do it:

• Speed -- faster
• Standards -- CSS3 support, higher Acid3 score, 55/100 currently. (Acid4 will be released soon.)
• JavaScript -- new engine, faster, uses multiple cores! Codenamed 'Chakra'
• Interface -- the interface looks significantly different.

Interested in checking out the new Web platform capabilities of Internet Explorer 9?

Download the Internet Explorer Platform Preview right now!!

Silverlight now on 60% of Internet-Connected Devices

Everyone's talking about Flash vs HTML5 but Flash isn't the only browser plug-in vying for your attention. According to Download Squad, Microsoft's Silverlight plug-in is now installed on 60 percent of internet-connected devices.

Is yours one of them?

Microsoft announced Silverlight 4, and with it some seriously juicy features :

Webcam & microphone support  || Multicast streaming || Drag-and-drop || Offline DRM, trusted offline applications || Full Visual Studio integration for Silverlight development

And, most importantly, Silverlight 4 will let you watch full-screen videos on one screen, and use your other screens without minimizing the video

Update: Silverlight 4 Beta RC is now available to download.

Indian Premier League on YouTube

When the first ball of this year’s Indian Premier League cricket season is bowled, fans across the planet will have a front row seat in the world’s biggest online sports stadium.YouTube global community tune in to the IPL’s YouTube Channel (www.youtube.com/ipl) for streaming and on-demand access to witness the start of what promises to be one of the most widely-distributed sporting events in history. Fans can watch matches, highlight videos, player interviews and much more all on the IPL’s YouTube Channel

On the IPL Channel, you’ll see three tabs:

• Today’s Matches
• Recent Matches
• Highlights

You can come to YouTube and keep up with the action any time, anywhere, and connect with fans across the globe. Watch as the match happens, or if you missed a match, tune in later to see what happened. The entire season will be streamed around the world on YouTube.

New in Labs: Refresh POP accounts

Turn on "Refresh POP accounts" from the Labs tab under Settings, and the refresh link at the top of your inbox will not only update your inbox with your new Gmail messages, it will also fetch messages from any other accounts which you have set up.

Try it out, and let us know if you have any feedback.