Internet Explorer Archive

Microsoft has confirmed that IE7 will be released as an optional download later this month. The long-awaited next version of Microsoft's browser software will be pushed out as an automatic update a "few weeks" later, probably as part of Microsoft's regular Patch Tuesday update cycle in either November or December. Firms not ready to install IE7 will be able to temporarily block the update.

"I've read many articles about Internet Explorer 7's new security features and coupled with the imminent release of Vista this got me interested. I recall seeing a rather funny screenshot (which I found on the internet), which showed Internet Explorer 6 in Windows XP stuffed full of spyware/toolbars/etc. I wanted to see if IE7 was any better than that screenshot of IE6, how would it cope with a user that simply clicked 'yes/allow/next/accept' to everything that was presented to them. In addition, I wanted to see how the User Account Control reacted to this, and in the end, could I restore IE7 to it's former glory."

Microsoft researchers are experimenting with an automatic code zapper for the company's Internet Explorer Web browser. Researchers at the company have completed work on a prototype framework called BrowserShield that promises to allow IE to intercept and remove, on the fly, malicious code hidden on Web pages, instead showing users safe equivalents of those pages.

Microsoft is releasing for public download on Aug. 24 a new test build of its browser, the near-final Release Candidate 1 milestone. RC1 may or may not be the final public test build of IE 7, officials said, depending on tester feedback. Microsoft has said to expect the final version of its standalone browser to be available in the fourth calendar quarter of 2006. Microsoft is planning to push IE 7 out to users via its Automatic Update software-distribution mechanism that is used to deliver security patches to users.

"This week I interviewed Microsoft's Chris Wilson, the Group Program Manager for IE, to address the issue of Web standards compliance and IE7. There has been controversy about this lately, sparked by a Slashdot thread last week that claimed IE7 was basically non-compliant with CSS standards. I then repeated those claims on my ZDNet blog, but I have to admit that I (and Slashdot too) missed one vital point - it was largely based on an article Paul Thurrott wrote in August 2005, so it was outdated information. Chris Wilson was naturally sensitive to all the criticism and so he vigorously defended IE's standards compliance in his blog. I hope my interview with Chris Wilson went some way to clarify Microsoft's current position on CSS and standards support for IE7. Although I personally still prefer Firefox's features, I do think it's important not to unfairly tar IE7 with the same brush as IE6."

Microsoft plans to automatically push Internet Explorer 7 to Windows XP users when the browser update is ready later this year. IE 7 will be delivered in the fourth quarter as a 'high priority' update via Automatic Updates in Windows XP, Gary Schare, Microsoft's director of IE product management, said in an interview Tuesday.

NeoSmart has a review of the just released Internet Explorer 7 and screenshots to match. The review focuses on the user interface, security, and compatibility of Internet Explorer 7 compared to IE6, Opera, and Firefox. They conclude: "The world of online browsing has finally reached a point where, by-and-large, it doesn't matter what browser a user chooses or how they decide to browse the web, for the most part pages will display the way they should, the users will be secure, and malware needs to find a new venue. This latest build of Internet Explorer 7 only strengthened our opinion."

Microsoft has said that the version of IE7 for Vista will differ slightly from the one for XP and down. "I want to announce that we will be naming the version of IE7 in Windows Vista 'Internet Explorer 7+'. While all versions of IE7 are built from the same code base, there are some important differences in IE7+, most significantly the addition of Windows Vista-only features like Protected Mode, Parental Controls, and improved Network Diagnostics. These features take advantage of big changes in Windows Vista and weren’t practical to bring downlevel."

DevSource's John Mueller has an excellent "first look" at what it will take for Web developers to make their apps work with IE7. He says, "Unless you're using pretty much pure HTML on static pages, your application is going to break in some way."

Microsoft has acknowledged that a planned update to the way Internet Explorer renders multimedia on Web pages could cause some serious problems, and promised to give developers an extra two months to modify their pages to ensure a smooth transition. The company was forced to make the changes in response to a patent dispute with Eolas Technologies. The fix would affect the way ActiveX controls are displayed on Web pages, according to experts. If no changes were made, a user would have to 'activate' an ActiveX or Java control before it would be usable. More on IE here.

"Many customers have asked us about having a better way to enter IE bugs. It is asked 'Why don't you have Bugzilla like Firefox or other groups do?' We haven't always had a good answer except it is something that the IE team has never done before. After much discussion on the team, we've decided that people are right and that we should have a public way for people to give us feedback or make product suggestions. We wanted to build a system that is searchable and can benefit from the active community that IE has here. As of today, our new Internet Explorer Feedback site is live."

At the MIX06 conference, Microsoft handed out new builds of Internet Explorer 7. They now also made it available for people who will not attend the conference. Also MIX06, Bill Gates promised more frequent updates to Internet Explorer in the future.

Apparantly 3D browsers are the latest fad, as after uBrowser based on Mozilla Firefox, there is now SphereXplorer, a 3D browser based on Internet Explorer and SphereXP. Indulge yourself in screenshots, or just download and try it. Then, go to our comment section and explain the usefulness, if there is any.

"Following a decision to release a standalone version of IE7, browser development at Microsoft has come fast and furious. BetaNews this week sat down with Gary Schare, Director of IE Product Management, to discuss the changes coming in IE7, Firefox's growth, and how Microsoft will bring RSS to the mainstream."