Internet Explorer is slowly, slightly, but significantly changing the Web.
Tuesday, Microsoft released a preview of IE10 running on Windows 7, as expected -- the same version that’s available for the new Windows 8, but translated into the older Windows 7. At the same time, executives with Microsoft’s IE team made the case that content providers have begun incorporating IE10-specific features into their sites, which would benefit those surfing on Microsoft’s latest OS, Windows 8, which has IE10 built in.
The move may be a response to Google’s Chrome, whose download page tells people to “get their Google back.” Google released both Google search apps and Chrome for Windows 8 last month, as well as a Windows RT-specific search app on Monday afternoon.
But with just the tiniest change to the functionality of Etsy.com, Pulse.me, and MSN, Microsoft is signaling that IE 10 might be taking a small step toward a more useful, and Microsoft-centric, Web.
