Although no official information has yet been released, Microsoft has hinted of employing extensions to its new Windows 10’s “Spartan” browser.
On January 27th, in an #AskIE chat on Twitter, the Internet Explorer team confirmed the rumors regarding the browser extensions: “Yes. We’re working on a plan for extensions for a future update to Project Spartan.“
Later on, on April 2nd to be exact, the IE team tweeted again to “stay tuned for more details on extensions plans…”
The Spartan…
In an attempt to stay competitive, Microsoft decided to substitute the Internet Explorer with a new and more modern browser codenamed “Project Spartan.” The Spartan will be released with the Microsoft’s new Windows 10, and, since both Mozilla and Chrome employ browser extensions, so should the Spartan, too.
The Browser Extensions…
Browser extensions come quite handy as they enable users to customize their browsers in various ways:
- To add more features to your browser
- To modify (add, remove, modify content) the way websites appear on your screen
- To integrate your browser with other services you use
Extensions for the Different Browsers…
Mozilla Firefox is said to have the most powerful and advanced extension system that couldn’t be possible on any other browser.
On the other hand, Chrome offers a great variety of add-ons but they are not as powerful. The reason behind is Chrome intentionally imposes restrictions and employs a permission system instead for security purposes. In other words, Chrome’s extensions are more secure but less powerful compared to Mozilla’s.
Up until now, Internet Explorer had the smallest extension system compared to the two above. Very few browser add-ons for IE were available so users who were looking at using additional browser features, would avoid Internet Explorer.
With the launching of Spartan and Windows 10, we are hoping to see the promised extensions as powerful, secure and diverse as those of Chrome and Mozilla’s.