A brief review Of Internet Explorer 7.0 for Windows XP SP2 Beta
| by David Callan The release recently of the beta version of Microsoft’s new web browser, the Internet Explorer 7.0 for Windows XP SP2 (IE7 beta) has been received with mixed feelings.Initial reactions from early users who have extensively tested the product,
has had most of them impressed with the good progress made by Microsoft in
the ongoing web browser wars. Still most people felt that as far as web browsers
go, Microsoft is still trying to play catch up and anybody who may have expected
a revolutionary new product is bound to be disappointed.
Most Features Have Been Seen Elsewhere
A vast majority of the features in this web browser were first seen elsewhere, in other competing products like Firefox, Mozilla and Opera. However they have been well packaged and presented and the result is that most IE users should find it both easy to use and at the same time, great fun. What has really pleased many initial users however is its’ speed. Microsoft obviously put in a lot of hard work in this area, knowing just how valued a feature it is in web browsers and the general feeling is that the IE 7 is as fast as Opera, if not slightly faster.
Actually this initial release of the new Microsoft browser has mainly been targeted at the techies who are usually much more critical and find bugs much quicker than ordinary consumers. Microsoft has however promised the release of a consumer beta version soon.
RSS Is A Big Thing In The New Browser
The RSS feed feature has greatly been enhanced in IE 7 beta with many improvements and introductions all designed to greatly simplify the use of RSS.
The great news is that this product now uses the same feed icons as other web sites and browsers do and more importantly, now supports atom-based feeds. There is also lots more information on the page shown when viewing a feed. There is for instance a subscription button and subscribing to RSS feeds is made extremely easy - all you need are two clicks and it’s done.
There is little doubt that RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is here to stay and its’ significance will continue to grow on the web. It is good that Microsoft have recognized this and addressed the issue by making things simpler for the user. The truth is that most ordinary people find RSS a little complex to fully grasp and use.
Main IE 7 Interface
However the first place where a user is bound to notice great changes is in the main IE 7 interface. What we now have is a streamlined toolbar approach that should be much easier and more comfortable to use. Still those who would prefer to stick to familiar menus can do so by going straight to the Tools menu and opting for the classic menu option.
Those who frequently like to use tabbed browsing will also be extremely pleased because IE 7 now works like most of the other browsers in this area. You can now easily save groups of tabs and be in full control of how tabs are navigated to and opened.
The zoom option for those who would like to take a closer look at something on a web site is also available in this Microsoft browser for the first time. The feature has been available to Opera users for a long time. You can get to the feature pretty easily from the status bar at the bottom.
Security Has Been Enhanced
Security has become an increasingly important issue on the World Wide Web and it was therefore not surprising when Microsoft promised improved security features well in advance of the release of this IE beta version. And as promised there are lots of changes with security in mind in the IE 7 beta. The ‘delete browsing history’ button gives the various delete options. From deleting only passwords used, to only cookies or only temporary internet files. There is also an easy way to delete all.
With the IE 7 beta, it is also much easier to quickly identify problem sites because the address of a site is always displayed, even if it is a pop-up or pop-under.
Conclusion
It is still too early to tell what sort of impression this new Microsoft browser will have in the market but it will be interesting to see the impact its’ introduction will have on the leading browser products.