IE 7 Beta 2 Review

Good, Very Good!

Published on February 4, 2006 By Larry Kuperman In Internet

Microsoft has released for public download the second Beta of the next version of their Internet browser. I have downloaded and installed the Beta 2 of IE7 (Internet Explorer 7) and so far I like the experience very much.

Key Features: Tabbed Browsing, a Streamlined (and highly configurable) user interface, greatly improved security, RSS feed support, toolbar search box. For a full feature list see Link (Some IE7 features will not be available until Vista rolls out.

Killer Feature: Quick tabs, thumb nail view of the tabs that you have open.

If you have used Firefox, the experience will be immediately familiar. Set up was easy, configuration was intuitive. The tabs look the way I have my tabs set in Firefox (I use Tab Mix Plus) and useage was familiar. IE 7 install also optionally runs the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool at installation,which was a nice touch, I thought.

I configured the search box immediately, choosing Google over MSN Seach without problem.

Memory usage still seems higher than for Firefox. IE7 with two tabs open: 67 Mb. Firefox 1.5.0.1 with the same two tabs: 47 Mb. If anyone gets different results, I would like to see them.

As mentioned before, security is GREATLY improved. Tools> Manage Add Ons lets you see what is running and gives you the option of Enabling/Disabling an Add On or deleting it all together. There are also built-in links for a number of Add Ons, including security ones, at http://windowsmarketplace.com/content.aspx?ctId=63 You can get Pop Up blockers, anti-Spyware programs, etc.

The interface is way cleaner, although you can easily go back the IE6 "classic" look if you want. See Link

IE7 is obviously intended to go head to head with Mozilla's Firefox. In my not-so-humble opinion, it is competitive. It doesn't blow Firefox away, but it is much better than IE6.

Take the full tour at Link

Comments (Page 2)

Brokensquare

on Feb 04, 2006

in way of experimenting - am now running 3 tabs @ 52mb

now 4 tabs...69mb

I think I hear my computer grooooaaaaning!
seems to be running fine...no noticeable slowdowns!
(running XP home SP2 - p4 1.6ghz)

Melanie Harrison

on Feb 04, 2006

I agree with Larry, the Beta is great!I have used Firefox before and it is similar.The RSS feeds option is one of my favorite features.The "Phishing Filter " gives me added security and the interface is clean and eye-catching.A much improved Internet browser!

davad70

on Feb 04, 2006

The features are great, but in my opionion the UI is lacking. Hopefully this won't be the final "face" of IE7.

Drzues

on Feb 05, 2006

I wasn't to impressed, but thats me.for some reason I can't go back to IE6. if anyone can give me a hint on this matter I would be grateful.

slagny

on Feb 05, 2006

To drzues, This is in the release notes for Internet Explorer, the link is at the bottom. Seems pretty straightforward. Good luck.

Uninstalling Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 Preview

To uninstall Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 Preview and return to Internet Explorer 6 on Windows XP
• Click “Start,” and then click “Control Panel.”
• Click “Add or Remove Programs.”
• Check “Show Updates” at the top of the dialog box.
• Scroll down the list to “Windows XP – Software Updates,” select “Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2Preview,” and then click "Change/Remove."
If "Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 Preview" does not exist, run %windir%\$NtUninstallie7bet2p$\spuninst\spuninst.exe. You need to have "view hidden folders" enabled.
Link

Larry Kuperman

on Feb 05, 2006

Those that had troubles with running the Beta, were you running XP SP 2?

KenzieDamage

on Feb 05, 2006

The features are great, but in my opionion the UI is lacking. Hopefully this won't be the final "face" of IE7.

Even if it is the final UI, how soon do you think it will be before we get to change it with WindowBlinds?

starkers

on Feb 05, 2006

Using it right now...seems to run well and not too resource intensive, no more than FF, anyhow.
One problem I've found is that some images do not appear, just a red cross instead. However, only been fiddling with it for a short while and figure it can be tweaked, etc to resolve the few small issues so far found here.
Generally speaking it is a good browser and is faster than IE6....the full release should prove to be quite something is this beta version is anything to go by.
Shall know more once I've played with it more, but yeah, it seems to have potential and a fair cut above previous IE releases.

thomassen

on Feb 05, 2006

What I find most exciting is that they are working to improve CSS support. All though, it'll be interesting to see how far they go. I got they feeling they are doing a catch-up only. Something which isn't good considering how rarely IE has been updated lately regarding web standards. Ideally they should have pushed a little further ahead and assist the progress and adoptation of new standards.

kryo

on Feb 05, 2006

What I find most exciting is that they are working to improve CSS support.

Not so much--as I found out just yesterday trying to get a design working right in IE7, it seems that it completely ignores any attempt to place comments in CSS, instead interpreting any and every line, commented or not. At any rate, the devs have already noted that there's no plan for full CSS2 support even by the time it's done.

And IMO the interface is terrible, and largely uncustmoizable. No menus by default (worse, when you turn them on they're stuck below the address bar), the horrible "friendly" button bar can be moved but not REmoved, and at least for me, the tabs don't even work.

I'll stick with Firefox, thanks.

thomassen

on Feb 05, 2006

In regards to the latest UI change, I've only seen screenshots, but I thought it looked a bit unorganized. Optimizing the space for the viewing of the website is good, but it didn't seem friendly.

Fourth Letter

on Feb 05, 2006

"As mentioned before, security is GREATLY improved. Tools> Manage Add Ons lets you see what is running and gives you the option of Enabling/Disabling an Add On or deleting it all together."

This feature already exists in IE6

ExodusCrow

on Feb 05, 2006

You forgot some of the other great features in IE7. Printing has been GREATLY improved and page zooming is pretty cool. We just have to remember that this is just a preview of IE7 and is mainly intended for developers to test it out on their pages and is not feature complete.

As with other browsers there are pros and cons with IE7. I can't wait to see the next release.

starkers

on Feb 05, 2006

UPDATE...
Upon reboot this morning and trying to connect to the net, I got a blue screen with the Windows has been shut down message.
On second reboot everything loaded okay and all seemed fine...until I tried to connect to the net, same blue screen.
Uninstalled IE7 beta and did a registry clean up, etc, and all is well with connecting to my ISP. It would seem that IE7 changed my internet settings somehow, as well as some scripts....when able to log on to the net, I got some 'change' message boxes from MS Antispy to state that some script and ActiveX controls had been reverted to their prior state (based on previous allowed settings).

Shame, that! I was enjoying its use. Oh well, sent an error report and I'm sure the issue will be resolved prior to final release.

Larry Kuperman

on Feb 05, 2006

Fourth Letter, you are probably right and I simply was not aware of that feature in IE6. The new security features can best be summarized as follows:

Add-ons Disabled Mode
To help troubleshoot difficulties launching Internet Explorer or reaching specific websites, you have the ability to start in "No Add-ons" mode, where only critical system Add-ons are enabled.

ActiveX® Opt-in
Disables nearly all pre-installed ActiveX controls to prevent potentially vulnerable controls from being exposed to attack. You can easily enable or disable ActiveX controls as needed through the Information Bar and the Add-on Manager.

Security Status Bar
Enhances awareness of website security and privacy settings by displaying color-coded notifications next to the address bar. Internet Explorer 7 changes the Address Bar green for websites bearing new High Assurance certificates, indicating the site owner has completed extensive identity verification checks. Phishing Filter notifications, certificate names, and the gold padlock icon are now also adjacent to the address bar for better visibility. Certificate and privacy detail information can easily be displayed with a single click on the Security Status Bar.

Address Bar Protection
Every window, regardless of whether it's a pop-up or standard window, will present an address bar to the user, helping to block malicious sites from emulating trusted sites.

An additional feature will be added with Vista:

Protected Mode
Internet Explorer 7 in Windows Vista runs in isolation from other applications in the operating system. Exploits and malicious software are restricted from writing to any location beyond Temporary Internet Files without explicit user consent.

ExodusCrow, you are also correct about both the Printing and Zoom modes being very useful.

Advanced Printing
Automatically scales a printed webpage so that it's not wider than the paper it will be printed on. Internet Explorer 7 also includes a multi-page print preview with live margins, resizing text to avoid document clipping, and an option to print only selected text.

Page Zoom
Enlarge or zoom in on individual webpages, including both text and graphics, to either focus on specific content or to make content more accessible to those with vision limitations.

I also mentioned that, in my opinion, "It doesn't blow Firefox away, but it is much better than IE6." I said that I would probably run two browsers for a while. (Also be aware that Firefox 2.0 will be out sometime in the near future.)

IE 7 has importance, not as an upgrade for XP, but because it is the browser version that will ship with Vista. Vista will be out before the end of the year and all new PCs will ship with it. Sooner or later, it will make its way onto our PCs and that is reason enough for me to try the Beta.

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