IE 9 Release Candidate Tops 2 Million Downloads

Yes, that is BEFORE the final release, when they will push it out via Windows Update. Pretty impressive! I guess it shows how much folks want Microsoft to support real web standards!

Without auto-update, 2 million users downloaded IE9 RC

“Raw first-week sales numbers are often used to indicate the efficacy of a product’s launch. But really, the thing these numbers best represent is the level of user excitement. Today, Microsoft revealed that users were very excited about Internet Explorer 9 RC, which launched last week.

According to Microsoft, IE9 RC was downloaded 2 million times in the six days following its launch. While a big number, it’s doubly significant because these were users who actively downloaded the software without a Windows Update auto update, or a system alert telling them an update was available. These users knew the update was there and went out and got it.

Starting on Friday last week, IE9 Release Candidate began rolling out as an Automatic Update to a small group of IE9 Beta users. The Internet Explorer Engineer’s blog said it will eventually expand to cover all beta users.”