Microsoft Announces New Developer Channel, Enhanced Dev Tools

Microsoft wants to be more open with the web developer community, and thus the company has a new developer channel for Internet Explorer. It’s a fully-functioning browser designed to give an early sneak peek at new IE features, and it’s currently available for download for both Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 SP1.

microsoft dev channel UI
UI enhancements

Users can get a taste of new F12 developer tools including the ability to automate tests with the WebDriver standard and using the Gamepad API to add Xbox game controller support to online apps and games.

Other features include a better, faster debugging experience; “richer analysis capabilities throughout the Memory and UI Responsiveness profilers”; more keyboard shortcuts; new header notifications; and more. (The complete list is here.)

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Gamepad

This is just the beginning; Microsoft says that it will continue pushing out updates. “As we work on new features and standards, we will continue to share early code through the IE Developer Channel,” wrote IE partner group program manager Jason Weber. “You can always go to the DevChannel.Modern.IE page to learn more about the latest features in the IE Developer Channel.”