Microsoft reportedly working on brand new web browser for Windows 10

By Chris Welch/The Verge



Microsoft is said to be at work on an all new web browser, codenamed Spartan, that could officially move the company away from Internet Explorer upon the launch of Windows 10. ZDNet reports that the new app is not Internet Explorer 12, the next iteration of Microsoft's longtime browser that we'd typically expect alongside another major Windows release.

Instead, it seems that the company is planning to start anew with a web browser that looks and feels "more like Chrome and Firefox" according to ZDNet. But despite a new appearance (and perks like extensions), this new browser would retain the foundations of Microsoft's current web technology. The new software will continue to utilize the Chakra JavaScript engine and Trident rendering engine, so Redmond isn't suddenly switching over to WebKit, the engine that's used by Apple's Safari. Other competitors like Google have moved off the WebKit path and created custom variants of the engine to serve their own development needs.

Don't expect to see Internet Explorer vanish, though. ZDNet says that IE 11 will still come bundled with Windows 10 for backward compatibility reasons, so Microsoft will in fact be shipping two browsers with its next big operating system. The next big Windows 10 event is scheduled for January 21st; that's when we expect to hear more about the software's new consumer-facing features and Microsoft's plans for Windows 10 on tablets and phones. Could this new web browser also be on the agenda? That's still up in the air, with ZDNet reporting that Spartan may not be far enough along in development for inclusion in beta Windows builds.

YouTube Now Supports 60fps Videos

You've never watched YouTube quite like this: today the company began rolling out support for higher video frame rates like 60fps. We've seen movie trailers and other special clips appear with higher fps counts before, but now it works for regular user uploads, too. To see the smoother motion, you'll need to be watching in either 720p or 1080p HD. Both Chrome and Safari 8 worked fine in our tests, but we're seeing mixed results with mobile browsers. Once you hit play, the difference is immediate and hugely noticeable — especially when you're watching video game footage.

There are plenty of situations where faster frame rates can make a huge difference, but it's easy to spot the upgrade with gaming content. For years, YouTube uploads have been capped at around 30fps, which looks perfectly fine when watching most types of video, but falls short with games. When you're playing a PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or Wii U through your television, the frame rate is always much higher than what YouTube's been able to display — until now.

Finally YouTube can show those clips at their native frame rate. Kotaku points to the above Mario Kart 8 as demo footage, and rightly so: it looks amazing. Watch for long enough and you might start wondering why there's not a controller in your hand.

Mario Circuit - 1:44.414 - Kαzυσ (Mario Kart 8 World Record) 60FPS WITH CHROME



Back in June, YouTube promised that it would add 48fps and 60fps playback support for "motion-intense" videos uploaded to the service, but it's kept relatively quiet on the matter since. But now it would appear that smoother frame rates are here. Other videos published today (such as the below Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze clip) also exhibit 60fps playback.

60fps Test | Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze 3-4 Time Attack (Shiny Gold | 00:52:76)