Design Work 
IE 7 Unleashed!
So yeah, this past week (meaning the past 7 days) Internet Explorer 7 was finally released to the public. Betas had been floating around for a while, but I had avoided installing them until a final release was made public, since IE upgrades your browsers and will not let you revert back to an earlier version once the deed is done. Another reason why I avoided installing any of the betas available was because most of my clients still have IE6 on their machines as their main browser, and so, I till needed it for testing.
Okay, so it was released, what are my impressions of it, you ask?
Here goes…
Overall, a big improvement over Internet Explorer 6. Not surprising since it’s been 5 years and countless security patches since the last full version release. Improved security and phishing filters are probably the most significant improvements for your average user. Tabbed browsing makes surfing multiple sites much easier, though this isn’t anything innovative, as Opera and Fire Fox have had this feature for years. The ability to install Add-Ons is also a nice feature, but this is also a feature that has been available in Fire Fox for years, with Extensions.
Now, the big question(at least for me): How does it handle CSS?
The answer: Better than IE6, but still falls short.
As a web designer, this is a whole new headache and adds to the work load. Now, not only do I have to make sure my stylesheets work in Mozilla based browsers and IE6, but IE7, which handles CSS in a manner that is somewhere in between the 2 browsers… Now, when testing sites, I have to:
- Make sure it displays properly in FireFox,
- Make sure it displays properly in IE6
- and Make sure it displays properly in IE7.
Though it is a big improvement… it still needs a bit more work.
The overall feel for this browser is that it feels like Microsoft is trying to play catch-up with FireFox and Opera.
And it still has a ways to go before it catches up.
The updated look is very slick, and I like it. Tabbed browsing is a great added feature, as is the ability to install Add-Ons, such as the Developer Toolbar. Integrated RSS reader is also a nice new feature, but it still falls a little short when it comes to W3C compliance and its handling of CSS.
It’s good to see that Microsoft finally has a fire lit under their butt and is finally putting some money back into their browser development.
With Mozilla set to release FireFox 2 at the end of this month, let Browser Wars 2 begin…!
