Microsoft has a “test drive” page where you can use either IE8 or IE9 to create and delete Flash cookies if you currently don’t use the browser. The demo is pretty interesting and shows how deleting browser cookies, now will delete Flash cookies as well, assuming you’re using Flash Player 10.3.

You can earn rewards from a variety of methods, some free and some not. A lot of the free rewards have to do with helping the Bing experience by either searching on Bing or learning about Bings’ features. If you sign up today, you will also get 250 free credits.

Users can redeem their credits for a variety of rewards, none of which seem to be cash. You have a bunch of different gift cards available from popular places like Starbucks and Amazon. You can also earn credits for Microsoft related products like Microsoft Points or Xbox Live Gold Subscriptions.

Will Bing Rewards work better and last longer than Bing Cashback? Only time will tell.

There are two ways to activate this mode and each will be described below. Please note, that this method does not prevent an ISP or other services outside of your computer to keep from tracking you, this only applies to your computer and the files saved while browsing the web.

Software/Hardware used: Internet Explorer 9 RC running on Windows 7 Ultimate.

Start InPrivate Browsing from a Pinned Site

1. Right-click on the icon pinned to the Taskbar and click Start InPrivate Browsing from the Jump List that appears.

Start InPrivate Browsing from the Browser Window

1. With Internet Explorer open, click the Tools icon then Safety and then InPrivate Browsing.

Or, you can always use the keyboard shortcut, Ctrl + Shift + P.

Internet Explorer will automatically open a new InPrivate window that will allow you to browse the web anonymously on your computer. Notice how the Address bar changes to InPrivate, which indicates that the browsing mode is active. To close InPrivate browsing, simply close the window.

In this guide I will show you how to add search providers like Amazon, Wikipedia, Google and others as well as how to change the default search provider in Internet Explorer 9. If you have any questions please use the comments form at the end of the guide.

Software/Hardware used: Internet Explorer 9 RC running on Windows 7.

How to Add Search Providers to Internet Explorer 9

This section of the guide assumes that you only have one search provider in Internet Explorer 9.

1. Head over to the IE Add-ons page.

2. Locate the search provider you wish to use and click the Add to Internet Explorer button.

When asked if you want to add the search provider make sure you check Make this my default search provider.

3. Click Add to continue.

A. Next time you use the One Box in Internet Explorer, notice how you will have more than one option listed as a search provider (B. Search Provider Icon). You can switch between providers by clicking on the corresponding icon.

C. You can also add additional providers by clicking the Add button. This will take you to the add-on page we visited in Step 1 above.

How to Change Search Providers in Internet Explorer 9

If you happen to have more than one search provider and you wish to change the defautl provider, follow the instructions below.

1. Click the Tools icon and then Manage add-ons.

2. When the Manage Add-ons window opens, click Search Providers.

3. Select the search provider you wish to use as your default in Internet Explorer and click Set as default.

4. Click Close to save the changes and return to the browser window.

You have successfully added and changed the default search provider in Internet Explorer 9. If you have any comments or questions please use the comments form below.

This convergence gives you a personalized experience with pinned sites and provides you with some pretty cool features without opening the browser. Check the guide below to learn how to pin sites and how to use this new feature.

Software/Hardware used: Internet Explorer 9 RC running on Windows 7 Ultimate.

1. Open the website you wish to pin to the Taskbar. Click and drag the site’s icon to the Taskbar. Notice that as you drag the icon you will see a small tooltip Pin to Taskbar. When you get to the taskbar drop the icon in the location you wish for it to appear.

A. Once pinned you will notice that the browser will take on the look of the website you pinned. In Amazon’s case, the Amazon icon will appear and the Back/Forward buttons changed to the Amazon orange color.

Note: This indicates that the site supports this feature.

B. Another thing that will occur is that the Internet Explorer icon will change to the Amazon icon.

C. The most useful feature that you will find when you pin a site to the Taskbar is the custom Jump Lists. When you right-click on the pinned site icon you will see a list of Tasks and Links on the Jump List specific to the site.

In Amazon’s case there are two sections, Amazon Favorites and Tasks. Each providing you links to sections of the websites and specific actions like checking your Order Status.

Tasks and links in Jump Lists will vary from site to site, but will always give you a sense that website is integrated with the operating system.

To see a list of sites featured by Microsoft that take advantage of this feature, visit the IE9 website.

How do you like pinning sites in IE9 so far? Have you found any other sites that take full advantage of this feature?

If you have any comments or questions please use the comments form below.

Software/Hardware used: Internet Explorer 9 RC running on Windows 7 Ultimate.

1. Click the Tools icon and then Internet options from the menu.

2. When the Internet Options window opens, click Settings in the Tabs section.

3. The Tabbed Browsing Settings window will open. Check Enable Quick Tabs (Ctrl+Q) and click OK. Click OK again to close the Internet Options window.

Close Internet Explorer and reopen.

Next time you have several tabs open, press Ctrl + Q on your keyboard and you will get a peek of all open tabs in one view (see above). If you have any other IE9 tips to share please use the comments form below.

Alternatively, corporate users can use the newly released IE9 Automatic Update Blocker Toolkit to stop any automatic updates to IE9. This toolkit won’t stop any updates from the Beta to the Release Candidate or any further updates from pre-released versions of IE9, including the final version. Even though Microsoft feels that they have made IE9 very compatible for a corporate environment with backwards support for sites that were designed for previous Internet Explorer versions, they still have released the Blocker Toolkit for those who don’t feel the same.

Whether you’re an avid beta tester or a corporate environment, you still have the ability to control your browser updates.

The latest update sports over 17,000 pieces of user feedback and it bears the Release Candidate (RC) name which means that Internet Explorer is close to an official release as a stable product for deployment across the enterprise and to consumer’s computers. Speaking of deployment, Microsoft also made available the Internet Explorer Administration Kit 9 (IEAK 9) and the IE9 Blocker Toolkit for IT Professionals.

Check out two sites that are using Internet Explorer’s new site pinning feature for a completely immersive experience between Internet Explorer and Windows 7.

Twitter and Internet Explorer, a better social experience

Notice how the Back/Forward buttons change colors and the Twitter icon appears on the top-right corner. Internet Explorer is branded to Twitter’s look and feel. The next thing you will notice is that when you right-click the Twitter/IE icon on the Taskbar you will see the Jump List with a Tasks section that is specific to Twitter. Click on any of the Tasks to see the section listed.

Amazon and Internet Explorer, online shopping to the next level

As with any site that is pinned to the Taskbar, Internet Explorer will adjust it’s look to suit the site’s colors and icons (see Amazon below).

If you want to experience what Microsoft has done to integrate the browser with Windows 7, you’ve got to give Internet Explorer 9 a spin. Trust me, you will not be disappointed.

Download Internet Explorer 9 Release Candidate from Microsoft.

Via the Windows Team Blog.

What does all this mean? There’s healthy competition and despite Google’s efforts to supplant Internet Explorer, recent investments by Microsoft for Internet Explorer in improving speed, the experience, and compliance with standards is paying off.

Microsoft’s success in the browser war is dependent on IE9 offering similar syncing services across devices like those found on the Chrome and Android platforms as well as ensuring that the browsing experience remains the equivalent or better when compared to other browsers when using web applications like Hotmail, Gmail, and others.

Check out this conversation over market share between Roger Capriotti and Scott Armstrong from Microsoft.

Have you given IE9 a spin? Check it out here.

Via Microsoft Blog.

We proceeded to try other things before it dawned on me, was the date on their computer correct? When asked they realized that the date on their computer was set to 2030, it appears they had a power outage which caused Windows 7 to loose track of time, which then resulted in the date mismatch and security certificate appearing to be expired. So if you encounter this error, the first thing you need to do is verify that your computer’s date and time is correct. If that doesn’t solve your issue, please use the comments form below and we will be happy to give you a hand.

To change the time simply click on the Date and Time on the Taskbar and then Change date and time settings.