Microsoft Releases Internet Explorer 7
October 23, 2006 | By Kevin Zolkiewicz
Last week, Microsoft released Windows Internet Explorer 7 (IE7). It’s the first major new version of Internet Explorer in five years. That being said, many of the new features in IE7 catch up to the features offered in increasingly popular Web browsers such as Firefox. However, a few unique features make the upgrade worthwhile.
Here’s an overview of some of the new features in IE7:
- Streamlined Interface. You’ll notice fewer toolbars and less overall clutter in the browser.
- Tabbed Browsing. A long time feature of practically every other Web browser on the planet, tabbed browsing has finally made its way to Internet Explorer. Tabbed browsing lets you view multiple web sites in tabs in a single browser window instead of having to open additional windows.
- Integrated Search. IE7 includes an integrated search box directly next to the address bar. You can configure the search box to use whatever search engine you’d like.
- Improved Printing. An improved printing engine means you’ll no longer have to worry about text being cut off when you print a Web page.
- RSS Support. IE7 comes with built-in support for web feeds, sometimes referred to as RSS (Really Simple Syndication). Web feeds are a great way to stay up-to-date on your favorite news sites or blogs. Why not test out this new feature by subscribing to The Wisdom Blog? If you’re looking at this page in IE7, you should see the feed indicator icon (located between the Home and Print icons) light up. Click it to view or subscribe to our feed.
- Phishing Filter. IE7 is the first Web browser on the market to integrate anti-phishing technology. If you’re not familiar with phishing schemes, check out our blog entry from earlier this year. IE7 will automatically check the legitimacy of every Web site you visit. If it spots a known or suspected phishing site, you’ll receive a warning notice:
Availability
Windows Internet Explorer 7 is currently available for users of Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1. You can download Internet Explorer 7 at Microsoft’s Web site.
Starting in November, IE7 will also be distributed via Microsoft Update and Automatic Updates as a critical update. If you choose not to download IE7 manually, your computer will display a message sometime over the next few weeks telling you about IE7. You’ll have options to “Install”, “Don’t Install”, or “Ask Me Later.”
If you’re a network administrator and, for whatever reason, would rather not have IE7 automatically downloaded on your network computers, you can take advantage of Microsoft’s blocker toolkit.
Some Bad News: Web Site Compatibility
While most Web sites you’ll view in IE7 should continue to work perfectly fine, Web sites that perform highly functional tasks or are designed to work only with specific browsers may not function properly in IE7. These problems may range from minor cosmetic errors to major functionality impairments. If you install IE7 and begin to notice major issues with certain Web sites, you can always roll back to version 6 by uninstalling IE7 using Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel. Web site administrators will likely correct most IE7 bugs over the next few weeks.
The Future
While Internet Explorer market share was near 95% five years ago, the competitive landscape has since changed dramatically and Internet Explorer’s market share has slipped drastically as a result. Now that IE7 is released, Microsoft is promising more frequent browser updates. Hopefully they will stay true to this plan and not let Internet Explorer grow embarrassingly out-of-date again.