Microsoft releases Internet Explorer 7

Filed under: Windows, Microsoft, Mozilla, Browser Tips

Microsoft releases Internet Explorer 7

by Chris Gilmer Oct 18th 2006

Even though Yahoo might have released IE7 a tad early, Microsoft still managed to get it officially out the door on their scheduled date of October 18th 2006, a mere 100 years since their last release. Microsoft has a lot riding on this one. Bill Gates has promised a revamp of the market leading browser, and everyone is expecting something big from IE since it has been so long since the last release. Browsers like Firefox are gaining ground, and IE7 better prove something to users, or it could face a steady decline as it has in the past few years. So needless to say, the browser wars are back on. IE7 is out, and Firefox is just waiting to pounce on the new Microsoft browser in the next few days with Firefox 2 (In both Mac and PC formats).
My knees are shaking right now at Microsoft's nice warning message as shown above, and I haven't built up the nerve to run the install. Give me some time. In the meantime, if anyone has any experience with the new IE7, drop us a line.

Look out for a comparison of the two new browsers in an upcoming post.

Tags: browsers, firefox, ie7, microsoft, mozilla, windows

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Richard said 11:08PM on 10-18-2006

Works great, blazing fast, and fitting in a tiny 14.5MB with four tabs open, I hope Microsoft keeps their promise

Ron Moses said 11:34PM on 10-18-2006

I installed the beta a month ago, it was painless and I've had no problems with it. Of course I run Firefox 99% of the time, but when I have needed IE, it has been just fine. And no incompatibilities with the IEtab extension in Firefox, either. Go for it.

David Roche said 11:37PM on 10-18-2006

It fails to install for me. Tried it twice, and each time it fails to install, then rather rudely demands a restar of Windows. Meh!

Abhijeet said 2:26AM on 10-19-2006

It installs fine. Needs a couple of restarts - one to remove an older version of IE 7 (one of the RCs), and then after it installs. I'm still underwhelmed by it, sticking with FF 2.0 RC3.

Alpesh Nakar said 2:58AM on 10-19-2006

Just blogged about my first experience with IE7 and Outlook! Check out my blog :-)
http://alpesh.nakars.com/blog/2006/10/19/ie7-and-outlook-2007-b2tr-rss/

Cheers!
Alpesh

RP said 4:48AM on 10-19-2006

If you have any anti-spyware/anti-virus apps running which block registry writes, it will fail to install. The instructions warn of this.

For example, if these apps block writes to your IE settings registry key, the install should fail.

phizm said 6:27AM on 10-19-2006

It starts fast, though it's memory usage is sporadic.

What makes me sad is the happy little 'Acid2 test' smily face gets smeared across the window in a sea of red, like IE was a truck that just ran it over. :(

Have a look...
http://www.webstandards.org/files/acid2/test.html

It's better than version 6, but it aint no Opera.

Christian said 7:40AM on 10-19-2006

And voila, here's the first bug: http://secunia.com/advisories/22477/

Ilias said 8:33AM on 10-19-2006

It seems that Microsoft has done a good job with the new IE. It's really fast, with a nice interface, although some problems still exists (e.g. scrolling) Anyway they are far beyond FF, but they're catching up..

Pquin2 said 8:59AM on 10-19-2006

I did not have any problem's running the installation works great, Go Ahead guys download it.

Jim said 10:41AM on 10-19-2006

And here's the first new rendering bug, introduced between RC1 and Final Release...

http://www.jimbarter.co.uk/2006/10/19/ie7-day-one-bug-one/

Gary Hilson said 11:52AM on 10-19-2006

Having already tried the beta, I knew what to expect from the Yahoo version and since it's going to be part of the Windows update whether I like or not, I installed it last night.

It's ugly. Maybe it will look cool on the Vista OS, but I don't like it and it doesn't offer any features I don't currently enjoy with Firefox.

Rebecca said 12:30PM on 10-19-2006

I installed the beta a while ago, and it would crash as it went through IE7's own little intro screens. After having that happen about 5 times in a row, I gave up and uninstalled it. Hope they've fixed whatever that problem was.

sports lover said 12:35PM on 10-19-2006

I am liking it and before downloading version 7 I was done with IE and strictly Mozilla. I love the tabbed browsing the most.

Nicholas said 2:50PM on 10-19-2006

Wow, I'm impressed. Here's what I like:
Pros:
- Spartan top section (really like the combined back and forward buttons
- Tab interface is solid
- Really fast
- RSS Feed implementation is solid
- Zoom Feature
Cons:
- Although the CSS/HTML rendering is improved, it's still not perfect. Pages just look better in other browsers ... After all, that IS the primary function.

dr.happy said 4:53PM on 10-19-2006

One of the most interesting aspects of the IE vs. Firefox battle is the development of the ecosystem of extensions or add-ons. Right now firefox had a great advantage in this space but you can see microsoft trying to catch up.

Microsoft has a interesting partner in Trailfire, a recommended download for IE7. See link:
http://www.ieaddons.com/SearchResults.aspx?keywords=trailfire

But this extension is also available for firefox. See link:
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/3524/

I think the ecosystem for firefox and IE will decide who wins this battle. What do you think?

Vikesh said 5:00PM on 10-19-2006

FTP doesn't seem to work with this new version. Anyone else having similar issues?

IE7 said 5:03PM on 10-19-2006

Grab it here: http://www.ie7.com/

:-)

dr.happy said 6:30PM on 10-19-2006

One of the most interesting aspects of the IE vs. Firefox battle is the development of the ecosystem of extensions or add-ons. It’s not just about bugs and features. Right now Firefox had a great advantage in this space but you can see Microsoft trying to catch up.

Microsoft has an interesting partner in Trailfire, a recommended download for IE7. See link:
http://www.ieaddons.com/SearchResults.aspx?keywords=trailfire

But this extension is also available for Firefox. See link
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/3524/

I think the ecosystem for Firefox and IE will decide who wins this battle. What do you think?

rtms said 6:37PM on 10-19-2006

While it looks a little better, I'm not very impressed with it. The font looks glassy or blurry for some reason. As well they hide the Menu as default and have it situated under the search bar instead of it being at the very top. I also find it slow, at least on my computer. And it handled IE 6 quit well. No not very impressed at all.

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