Windows 10: What we know about Project Spartan
Microsoft has officially unveiled it’s next generation web browser
– codenamed Project Spartan. This is one of the core features of Windows 10, which Microsoft hopes will help it to claw back market share from popular rivals such as Chrome.
According to the most recent reports, Microsoft is definitely dropping Internet Explorer when introducing the new browser, with a new name yet to be revealed. The Mail Online also remarks that Spartan will function much like Chrome and be faster than IE.
Spartan is not yet available to preview, with Microsoft claiming it will be ready for users to test in the coming months. Below is everything we know about the Microsoft’s next-gen browser so far.
1) Spartan is the codename – Microsoft has yet to disclose the official name for the revamped browser. It’ll be powered by a revamped rendering engine and will be the default browser on Windows 10 desktop and mobile devices.
2) The Spartan browser use a revamped engine called EdgeHTML. This replaces the Trident engine as the primary code-based, which was used to power Internet Explorer for 20 years.
Jacob Rossi, senior engineer at Microsoft’s web platform team gave more details about EdgeHTML to Smashing Magazine.
“To date, we’ve fixed over 3000 interoperability issues (some dating back to code written in the 90’s) on top of the over 40 new web standards we’re working on. For example, longstanding innerHTML issues are now fixed,” Rossi wrote.
Microsoft has confirmed that Trident and Internet Explorer will not be completely axed. Spartan will run a dual-engine, so it should be capable of fulfilling most requirements.
“We recognise some enterprises have legacy web sites that use older technologies designed only for Internet Explorer, such as custom ActiveX controls and Browser Helper Objects. For these users, Internet Explorer will also be available on Windows 10,” Microsoft confirmed on the Internet Explorer blog.
3) Microsoft has confirmed it is working on browser extensions for Spartan as it aims to go head-to-head with Chrome and Firefox. However, this functionality doesn’t look like it will be available anytime soon.
4) Cortana is built into Spartan. The personal assistant will autofill or provide directions to a restaurant, for example
5) Spartan will also allow you to view PDF files inside the browser.
6) You’ll have the ability to annotate any web page. On touch-screen devices this can be done anywhere on screen using a finger or a stylus input. On traditional devices such as laptops, you’ll be able to click on an area of the page and then add a comment using the keyboard.
7) There will be a Reading Mode included and you’ll be able to download pages for offline viewing. You’ll also be able to sync downloaded articles across devices.