Since then I have been using Google Chrome which is much faster and stable, but today I downloaded IE9. On first impressions the screen is less cluttered and has a cleaner feel to it. Speed wise it is much quicker than IE8, and have not experienced any problems with freezing so far. It is slightly slower than Google Chrome, but is faster than Firefox.

At first I didn’t notice the favorites and tools button in the top right hand side of the screen, but this adds to the cleaner look of the browser. Upon downloading I have found one problem, as I was met with an error message for my wireless Canon printer. At the moment there were no updates available for the drivers for the printer, but it is not an old model.

We had reported earlier this year that toolbars and other add-ons caused has caused a lot of problems in Internet Explorer, now IE9 keeps a watch on your add-ons and will then warn you if one is unnecessarily slowing down the browser.

The URL bar at the top of the screen is less than half the size of what is was before, which is a nice feature. It is also on the same line as the tab bars, instead of being above. I still prefer the look and feel of Google Chrome, but IE9 is a vast improvement over the old IE browser.

Conclusion
Internet Explorer has been trailing behind its rivals for years and the improvements in IE9 is going back to the progress that began in IE7 to return the browser to respectability. In my mind this is the best version of Microsoft’s browser so far, but it is almost shameful that Windows XP users won’t get to use it. The new browser is fast and highly usable, but it might not be enough for fans of other browsers to switch. Microsoft at least has a respectable choice on the browser market. How have you been finding IE9?

You can read a more in-depth review by clicking here.

My son has been off school sick for a couple of days and was looking forward to play the game with me, but it was difficult to explain to a seven year old why it took fifty minutes to install when it was saying it would happen in twenty. After installation was finally achieved we decided to compete on the two player split screen arcade mode. You get a good range of cars to choose from and even get to pick a color, which my son liked in particular.

First impressions on the graphics were good with a lot of detail, and the menus were easy to navigate without any problems. After a few races with my son I decided to delve into the GT mode. This is where the fun begins with the purchase of a Honda Civic type R. Now it was time to try and gain my B license, and consists of some steering and stopping challenges some of which need to be done in a set time.

I then went on to do a couple of races in the Sunday Cup. Using the Honda Civic it seems to just crawl around the track, but this is what will spur you on to earn enough credits to purchase something faster, and tune it up. I have not even scratched the surface with GT5 yet, and apart from the long install time the game does look like it will keep me entertained for a long time.

What have you thought of GT5 so far?