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Internet Explorer 12 Could Be Called “Spartan,” Feature Extensions


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Internet Explorer 12 Could Be Called “Spartan,” Feature Extensions

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- Spartan references are already available in Windows 9 builds

Microsoft is still looking into ways to fight Internet Explorer negative perception, and it appears that a name change is still on the table for the next version of the browser.

We’ve already heard from different sources that Internet Explorer 12 could come with a complete UI overhauland new features such as support for third-party extensions, but a new report published by ZDNet now reveals a little bit more about the upcoming browser.

It appears that Microsoft has already selected a new name for Internet Explorer 12, as company engineers are internally referring to the browser as “Spartan,” but it’s not yet clear whether the same codename could be used when the app hits the market or not.

As far as Microsoft is concerned, changing the name of the browser could indeed be a solution to mark the beginning of a completely new era for Internet Explorer, as the application would come with refreshed looks, new features, and lots of other improvements in terms of security and reliability.

“Spartan” references already exist in Windows 9

Few people have noticed this, but the leaked screenshots that reached the web last week and showing Windows 9 preview in action also included a small reference to an app called “Spartan,” which might or might not be a testing build of the new Internet Explorer.

Unsurprisingly, Microsoft also mentions “Spartan” in a job ad posted recently on its Careers website, as it’s looking for engineers to be in charge of “shipping task completion features via web/app services on bing.com, Cortana, Bing search apps, Spartan/Office/Skype/etc. and external search API.”

Microsoft hasn’t publicly talked about the next version of Internet Explorer, but a company engineer has recently confirmed in an AMA session on Reddit that Redmond considered a name change for the browser in order to fight negative perception and start it all over again with a new version.

XAX project could help build Spartan

As the aforementioned source speculates, Microsoft could use the XAX project developed by Microsoft Research to build Internet Explorer 12 and implement support for extensions and third-party x86 code which can be used directly in the browser.

Here’s a detailed description of the XAX project, as provided by Microsoft:

“Xax is a browser plugin model that enables developers to leverage existing tools, libraries, and entire programs to deliver feature-rich applications on the web. Xax employs a novel combination of mechanisms that collectively provide security, OS-independence, performance, and support for legacy code. These mechanisms include memory-isolated native code execution behind a narrow syscall interface, an abstraction layer that provides a consistent binary interface across operating systems, system services via hooks to existing browser mechanisms, and lightweight modifications to existing tool chains and code bases.”

Internet Explorer 12 should be part of Windows 9 when this comes out in April 2015, but it’s yet unclear whether a preview version of the browser could be implemented in testing builds of the operating system or not.

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It will be called "Spartan" because that is how many years behind Chrome IE 12 will be. From now to when Spartan were having their "300" war thing.

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