The Internet Explorer Development Team has brought us the news we’ve been waiting for – Microsoft is now working on incorporating extensions into Project Spartan. Recently, on the hashtag #AskIE, users have been able to directly ask the IE Dev Team about certain features within the new Spartan browser. When the team were asked whether or not there will be extension support for Project Spartan they responded with this:
#AskIE @bdsams @jacobrossi @IE Yes. We're working on a plan for extensions for a future update to Project Spartan.
— Microsoft Edge Dev (@MSEdgeDev) January 27, 2015
This is not a massive surprise, as other leading browsers, such as Google Chrome, and Firefox have extension support, and have a thriving market based on these plug-ins. This is great news, as it gives Spartan a huge chance to stay relevant, which has been questionable with the reputation IE has built over the past years. This doesn’t mean that IE is now completely irrelevant however, as the Dev Team confirmed that IE will be accessible, but not directly with a fresh install of Windows 10. The way it has been explained, suggests that IE must be activated or enabled to be used:
“Consumers on Windows 10 will get Spartan by default. IE will be available for Windows 10 & can enabled by the user.”
Many other questions were answered, however one large announcement was that Project Spartan will not be on any other platforms. Spartan will be exclusive to Windows 10, but with demand, may branch out to previous Windows platforms over the next few years.
“Cross-plat not planned. Spartan has been designed & built to be a great showcase for features of Windows 10, like Cortana.”
This is great news for the future of Project Spartan, and Windows 10 as a whole. This shows how Microsoft is massively looking into the public’s interest, to help the Windows 10 Development.
You can view the rest of the questions and answers on the official IE Dev Chat Twitter
