Microsoft Preps IE 7 Beta Refresh

On Monday at the Microsoft MIX 06 Web developer and designer conference
in Las Vegas, Nevada, Microsoft will issue a refreshed version of Internet
Explorer (IE) 7 Beta, which the company is describing as feature
complete. Microsoft will also discuss the next version of IE, which
will likely include features that didn't make it into IE 7, including a
true download manager and more seamless inline Web page searching.

A Microsoft representative told me last week that the company would
issue an update to IE 7 at the MIX 06 conference. IE developers
discussed the release during a recent online chat. "The important thing
about this release is that no further layout changes will be made for
IE 7," Microsoft's Cyra Richardson, IE Team lead program manager,
noted. "[MIX 06] attendees will receive several items at the show that
will allow them to better test IE compatibility. We will be striving to
allow attendees to start testing with the layout-complete version of IE
7."

IE 7 includes a wide range of functional and security improvements and
fixes some of the obscure Web rendering problems that plague previous
IE versions. New features include tabbed browsing, a phishing filter,
integrated Web searching, and Really Simple Syndication (RSS) support.
A Beta 2 version of IE 7 is due later this year, followed by the final
release in late 2006. IE 7 will ship as part of Windows Vista, which is
currently expected in November. But the company will make a
downloadable version available to users of Windows Server 2003 with
SP1, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, and Windows XP with Service
Pack 2 (SP2), Microsoft says.

Looking forward, Microsoft expects to ship subsequent IE versions far
more quickly than before, with nothing like the gap between IE 6 and IE
7. The company will solicit feedback for future IE versions at MIX 06.

End of Article

bye bye fire-hampster. In one year MS took away what took the M.F. years to achieve...functionality.

guruguru March 20, 2006 (Article Rating:

)

"bye bye fire-hampster."

Firefox 1.5 beats MSIE6 just as Firefox 2.0 will beat MSIE7 hands down. The sheer functionality that Firefox has will kill MSs "new" browser. I mean you can't put proper plug ins into MSIE. Firefox is the only browser thats secure and customizable enough to be good.

You loose again Micro$oft

harty23690 March 20, 2006 (Article Rating:

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Righhhhttttt, FF has 10% market share, IE 88% (approximately). My word, I'd love to loose like that.

Have you actually tried IE7??

alanm999 March 20, 2006 (Article Rating:

)

Having used IE7, I think it's fairly good, but I don't really need tabbed browsing in my life. For the ordinary user barely anything will have changed between IE6 and 7, as proved by the fact that I switched back to IE6 so easily (had to re-install Windows for various unrelated reasons).

Benn21uk March 20, 2006 (Article Rating:

)

I'm surprised Firefox has only a 10% share. It's definitely superior to IE6. IE7 looks promising, but I'm not sure if it's too late to stop people from migrating to firefox. Looks like Microsoft has happily copied features from Firefox (tabbed browsing, inbuilt search, support for RSS, etc.).

shark47 March 20, 2006 (Article Rating:

)

There are some websites that just refuse to load on firefox. I guess it's due to IE's market share. Even IE7 has problems with some websites. If Microsoft can take care of that and improve security, I don't see why Vista users would want to download Firefox.

shark47 March 20, 2006 (Article Rating:

)

"There are some websites that just refuse to load on firefox. I guess it's due to IE's market share."

Indeed. Who needs to conform to pesky things like "Web Standards" when you have 88% market share?

lotsamystuff March 20, 2006 (Article Rating:

)

"Looks like Microsoft has happily copied features from Firefox (tabbed browsing, inbuilt search, support for RSS, etc.)."

Oh please. Microsoft is simply following the trends just like Firefox is. MS is just a little slower it seems. If you think about it, Opera has had tabbed browsing, pop-up blockers, RSS feed support and superior Web Standards since before Firefox was an itch in some geeks pants.

It gets tiresome listening to "Microsoft ripped off this" and "Apple ripped off that". Someone innovates, then everyone copies. That's the way the world works. Just like music, if you need an analogy. Think of all the grunge bands that appeared after "Nevermind" came out. Or a surge of thrash metal after "Kill 'Em All" was released.

Whatever. In the end the bickering from all camps will not stop. Apple will do something and you'll all argue and flame. Then Microsoft will do something and you'll all argue and flame and blah blah blah blah blah.

sticknick March 20, 2006 (Article Rating:

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Quote alanm999: "Righhhhttttt, FF has 10% market share, IE 88% (approximately)."

If I'm not mistaken that is because Microsoft Products are installed on the majority of Corporate Networks. From what I've read, discussed, and heard most admins don't care enough/don't have the time/don't have the budget to widely deploy another web browser. Microsoft supports distributes IE Patches with their OS so it just simply makes it easier for them to maintain, and IE isn't all that bad a browser any ways so they just stick with it because its already there. Every Admin/IT person I've known to be in charge of such decisions uses some other browser other than IE because they realize it really is safer.

Kinda sad that no one understands thats why any other browser cant beat IE. Windows has to crashes and burn before another browser can really take over, and that doesn't seem to be happening any time soon.

Oh yes, if you can please post a link to these statistics that your talking about... From what I read your stats are close for Corporate Networks, but not Internet browsing, but I really have no idea.

If your going to try to state a fact please back it up. I'm sure some others here beside myself would enjoy the reading :)

Oh well, hope I didn't upset you IE Nuts.... LOL I personally use both.

Nisun March 20, 2006 (Article Rating:

)

"Indeed. Who needs to conform to pesky things like "Web Standards" when you have 88% market share?"

Actually, that's not microsoft's fault. I'll blame firefox for it. Firefox is a much newer browser. It's their responsibility to ensure that all the old webpages created for IE will load on their browser too. You can't just come in and change the standards.

shark47 March 20, 2006 (Article Rating:

)

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