Move Over IE: Here Comes Spartan

Let’s face it, regardless of how they have done in other tech aspects, Microsoft has been coming up short to competitors in the web browser category for years. Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and many other popular browsers have been used in place of Internet Explorer on most PCs, and nobody looks for a Microsoft browser to replace the one that comes on his or her Google or Apple devices. Project Spartan is how Microsoft aims to turn all that around. Look for the revamped Microsoft web browser to be packaged with Windows 10. Here are some features.

The first thing you will notice with Spartan is that Microsoft is getting out of the user’s way. IE, Internet Explorer, was always in your face and taking up precious screen space. Spartan is much more streamlined and actually looks similar to the latest version of Firefox with just the tabs at the top with a URL bar underneath and a small menu off to the right-hand side of the screen. It also loads much faster than its predecessor, which was one of the most frustrating things about IE.

Microsoft has not just pulled a page from their competitor’s playbook, however. There is a new feature in Project Spartan that is unique to the Microsoft web browser. There is a button that allows the user to make a “web note.” This means that the user can draw or write directly on the web page, save it, and send it to other users via email, social media, or other means. It is especially effective on a 2-in-1 device that allows you to draw directly on the screen with a stylus or your finger.

One decent feature from IE that went unnoticed (because no one used the browser) was the Reading view mode. This allows you to read the content of a website without the clutter (although it would be nicer for developers just to make the sites readable in the first place). This feature is staying in place for Spartan, and thus may finally get some recognition.

All in all, we always look forward to new computer technology, and it looks like Microsoft may finally be a player on the web browser scene.