Microsoft Releases Internet Explorer 7
Windows Internet Explorer 7 has gone gold, released in its final public version today by Microsoft.
IE7 features:
- Better security, including no integration with Windows Explorer, blocking many ActiveX controls
- Tabbed browsing, allowing viewing of multiple web pages in the same browser windows, and can be re-arranged by drag-and-drop on the tab bar
- Quick Tabs, which allows viewing large thumbnails of all current tabs in a single view
- Spoofing protection for International Domain Names in a foreign language
- A search box, which can support a very large number of search providers
- Per-pixel alpha channel (transparency) in PNG images
- RSS feed reading, with the browser able to auto-discover RSS feeds, subscribe to feeds, and automatically download updates and enclosure files
- CSS, DOM and HTML compatibility improvements
- Improved printing, including resizing to fit the page and prevent portions from being cut off
- Zooming in and out of web pages
- ClearType is enabled, regardless of Windows preferences, and can be disabled seperately from the rest of the OS
- Phishing Filter, which warns users if they are visiting a website that claims to be something it is not
- Popups display address bar and status bar, no matter what
- No more custom formatting of the status bar or preventing showing links that are hovered over
- One-click history, cookies, saved form data and password deletion
- Combined Refresh/Go button
- Combined Back/Forward history drop-down
- Fix My Settings warns users at startup if settings have been changed in an unsafe way, and fixes them with one click
- Support removed for: Gopher, Telnet, Scriptlets, DirectAnimation, XBM, Channels (Active Desktop), as well as the DHTML editing control, Offline Favorites
- No Add-ons mode to launch the browser without anything extra, especially toolbars
- File menu is hidden by default
- Text selection is improved
Microsoft will continue to provide consumers in North America running Internet Explorer 7 with unlimited phone support for installation and download issues at no charge until November 1, 2007. Free phone support is available in English Monday through Friday, 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. PDT, and on Saturday and Sunday from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. PDT by calling (866) 234-6020.
Ironically, the first version of IE7 to hit the internet today was the Yahoo-customized version, which makes Yahoo the default homepage and search engine, among other things.
You can download IE7 right now for Windows XP SP2, Server 2003, 64-bit versions of XP SP2 and Server 2003, and Server 2003 ia64
Internet Explorer at Wikipedia
Paul Thurrott’s review of IE7
IE7 Release Notes
The good part: a lot of people will receive a significantly improved browser.
The bad part: Microsoft requires WGA validation, while they should be doing everything they can to make sure people will start using IE7. Now, I understand they want people to run paid-for versions of Windows, but I’d rather have them checking whether a user’s system is genuine completely separate from installing IE7, letting those “thieves” use IE7 as well.
I’d be so glad if they’d just do that.
Comment by Tim | October 19, 2006
Yeah, I’d downloaded the Yahoo version, but wasn’t quite trusting enough, so I waited until it was available from Microsoft’s site. But once I got the MSFT version, I computed an md5 hash on both and they appeared to be identical. I just didn’t want a bunch of Yahoo stuff automatically added.
Runs well enough, seems a little snappier than the Release Candidate, as far as loading web pages and opening new tabs. I’ve probably been using the betas for about 35-40% of my browsing, whereas IE6 was lucky if it got 0.5% of my browsing time.
Hey, nice new look to the site, man!
Comment by Stu | October 19, 2006
There is a fix to RE-Enable telnet URL’s.
Anyone that has used Ipswitches’ What’sUp software will most likely be greatful … since the default behavior of monitoring SMTP, Pop3, and other services, is to have a link that creates a “telnet” URL to that monitored device on the appropriate port.
Its further an example of microsoft changing things that **IT** thinks people don’t need, or are not important, and then not providing easy access to information to re-enable a change they make. If there were any single reason to hate microsoft, it is for that type of reason … changing things because they believe they are right, when so many times they aren’t.
Comment by Robert | January 2, 2007
Apologies, here is that URL which is encoded with my name as well…
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/Catalogs/ie7_telnet.html
Thank you to Berkeley for making a fix available and being found via Google search!!
Comment by Robert | January 2, 2007